Kingdom Wing
by Black-Haired Girl
Summary: Gundam Wing & Kingdom Hearts II crossover; Heero is stranded in space and is saved by a few unlikely characters. Will Sora and his friends be able to return Heero to his own world?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Kingdom Wing  
Author: Black-Haired Girl  
RATING: T

Gundam Wing x Kingdom Hearts II crossover.

(I know. I know. I am crazy. I needed something fun to write for a little bit.)

* * *

Chapter One:

**Part One: Deep, Dark Sleep**

Alarms blared and beeped from every monitor face. Heero grit his teeth and pulled frantically at the unresponsive steering mechanism and stomped hard on the reverse thrust to try and correct the passenger shuttle he had commandeered, but it was no use. Half of the flight systems had been damaged and what little power he had left just wasn't enough.

So his plan had been foiled. He thought that stealing an empty passenger shuttle and going to the Lunar Base was going to be a piece of cake. Once there he could pick up his mobile suit and continue mission 00192. However, on route to his destination, some OZ lookouts noticed his shuttle and once he failed to hail them over the radio they had successfully managed to damage the shuttle but had failed to kill him. Now, in his escape behind the moon, he was suffering from the results of their attack.

The radar screen blipped before revealing a large elliptical outline.

"A meteor…" The Japanese boy said under his breath. He flicked on an external camera and zoomed. The image of an enormous, jagged gray meteor appeared on screen. It was nearly as large as Earth's moon and, in the condition this shuttle was in, there would be no way to maneuver around it. Heero knew the possibilities of coming out of this predicament alive were slim to none, but he wasn't a quitter. Not by a long shot!

So he hopped up from the main control seat, pushed off the back of the counter with a foot and floated towards the main cabin of the shuttle. The damaged vessel shook and quaked as it careened through space towards its final destination.

_If I can detonate the central fuel line I might be able to turn this thing around…_ he began calculating the possibilities. _But then I would just blow myself up in the process._

"Damn…" He muttered as he picked his way through the passenger cabin towards the rear of the shuttle. "I'll just have to evacuate…" He ripped open a narrow locker and began pulling on a large, loose-fitting space suit made specifically for shuttle evacuation. _I just hope I don't end up floating through space forever…_ the thought was a frightening one. He had heard of people drifting off into space. Many times before the war there were reports of colony exterior maintenance men being lost in space, only to be found years later as bags of frozen solid gray matter caught in Earth's orbit.

_I just can't sit here and wait to die…_ he reflected as he pulled the helmet over his head. He turned on the attached oxygen tank and began walking towards the emergency hatch. With a rough yank he pulled the red lever up and the hatch hissed open. As it did the vacuum of space sucked him out. When he exited the ship he began to spin head over heels. The vacuum effect had given him some forward momentum and he was floating fast away from the shuttle which continued towards the meteor. As Heero spun away he caught occasional glimpses of the shuttle as it plummeted towards the giant mass of rock.

It crashed head-on into the meteor and exploded into a bright golden shower of electricity, oxygen and fuel.

Debris shot out of the explosion and began rushing towards him. He could do nothing to dodge the onslaught of warped metal as it slid past. A massive chunk of the former shuttle slid by. He reached out and grabbed it with the tips of his fingers. Then he pulled himself closer to it and began using its speed from the explosion to propel forward.

Once settled on the chunk of debris he began searching the surrounding darkness of space for anything he could approach and board. _If I can find another ship, or a colony, or even a mobile suit…_ but he could see nothing. His previous mission had brought him far away from the main orbit of Earth. He had traveled past the moon and towards Mars. Very few ships ventured this far.

And now, to his dismay, his body was floating helplessly away from Earth.

He looked down at the shoulder of his suit. A little gauge reported that he had only 3 hours of oxygen left on the tank. He tried to flex his arms and legs but the cold of space had begun to freeze the thick padded fabric of the suit. A deep chill began to set in through the suit, causing his skin to pucker and quiver in attempt to warm his tired body.

_So this is how I am supposed to die…_ He closed his eyes and frowned. _Not in a magnificent battle. Not destroying my enemies. Just floating here… helpless._ A tight knot began to form in his stomach. He restrained any feelings of panic. _I have to save my strength. I have to stay calm, or my air will run out sooner._ He willed himself to relax. His relaxation shifted into deep meditation and as the third hour approached he drifted into a deep, dark sleep.

* * *

Part Two:

"We found him floating out there!"

"Yeah! Isn't that crazy?"

"We think he's alive!" Exclaimed two high-pitched squeaky voices. Heero cracked open both eyes then squinted. A bright light was shining into his face through the curve of his helmet, blinding him. He felt his body resting on its back against something. He blinked a few times and tried to make his eyes adjust. He could make out two very small blobs. They were about the size of his hands and they were twitching and moving in a strange and inhuman way.

"Look, he's awake!" Yelled a strange, garbled voice.

"Gawsh. He must be real tired, Ah-hyuck."

"Back up, guys. Give him some room."

As Heero's eyes adjusted he began to make out two small faces peering through the glass of his helmet at him. Two furry little faces with small, twitching noses and buckteeth. Squirrels?

Startled, Heero sat up and batted the little creatures off of him. He ripped his helmet off, threw it at the little animals and, once on his feet began backing away from them.

"Hey! WHAT IS THE BIG IDEA!"

"Ow! My head…" The little animals were running towards him shaking their little paws angrily at him. _They are talking?_

Heero's eyes widened and he began to suck in gasping breaths. His body quivered and shook. _Talking… animals…_

"T-talking squirrels…" Heero stammered, shocked.

"Squirrels? No! We aren't squirrels!"

"We are Chipmunks!" The two little animals exclaimed in their high, piercing voices. Upon closer inspection Heero saw that the little chipmunks were wearing aprons and one had a pair of goggles propped up on his fuzzy head, just below his small, twitchy ears.

Heero turned and saw something even worse than the talking chipmunks. A talking duck. The duck was wearing some sort of blue outfit and was flailing a stick at him, quacking. He could barely understand what the irate bird was saying. "WhyIottayoucan'tjustcomeinandstartthrowingaroundmembersofourcrew!"

Behind the talking duck was a huge dog-thing wearing a goofy grin and a tall, green hat. It was standing upright like a human. Heero was beginning to feel faint.

"Okay, guys, please… stop yelling." A boy came out from behind the dog thing. "Please, its okay. We aren't going to hurt you…" The boy was saying slowly, approaching with his hands up to show he meant no harm.

It was all too much for Heero to take. With a quick and frantic gesture he pulled open the evacuation suit and retrieved a small caliber handgun from within and pointed it at the approaching boy. "Just… stop. Don't come near me…" He began stepping backwards away from the cluster of odd creatures. "Just all of you stay away…" He pointed the gun at the dog-thing, and then the duck whose head was now turning an odd shade of red.

The boy stopped in his approach towards Heero and stared at the gun with widened, deep blue eyes. "Okay… it is okay. Please, don't shoot us…" Heero watched as the boy took a few steps back to give him his space. "My name is Sora. This is Donald…" He pointed down at the duck, which was glaring fiercely at him. Heero returned the glare and tightened his grip on the gun's handle. "This is Goofy," The dog-thing gave Heero a friendly wave, "… Chip and Dale." The boy, Sora, pointed at the chipmunks who were watching Heero closely.

"Why…" Heero raised his other hand and began rubbing at his forehead, trying to take in his situation. "Why… are those animals talking…?"

"Why wouldn't we be able to talk?'

"Yeah, dummy. A'course we can talk!"

"Who do you think you are anyway, pointing guns at us and stuff!"

"Yeah, we saved you after all."

The chipmunks bantered back and forth at him. Heero tried to relax and took in a deep breath. _Where am I… talking animals… this must be a dream. I must have gone mad in space…_

"Where am I?" Heero finally asked. He let the barrel of the gun lower to the floor but continued to hold it tightly in hand. His heart was throbbing heavily in his chest and his mind raced with various notions. _I am in an alternate universe… I am dead and this is hell… this is a dream I am going to wake at any moment… I have carbon monoxide poisoning…_

"You are on my ship. Chip and Dale found you floating in space. They pulled you in. We are on our way to Hollow Bastion." Sora said. Heero's eyes narrowed.

"Hollow… what? Where is Earth? I need to go back to Earth." Heero blurted quickly. Sora's eyebrows rose and he shook his head in confusion.

"Earth…? I don't know where you mean. I've never heard of that world."

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

Kingdom Wing: Ch 2

"How can we be sure he isn't a Heartless? Or a Nobody?" Heero could hear the irritated quacks from the duck through the door. He detected a low rumbling voice speaking in return and assumed that Goofy, the dog, had responded, though he couldn't make out his exact words.

"I think we can trust him. After all, he needs our help." He heard Sora say.

Heero frowned deeply and looked down at the two chipmunks who now stood at his feet glaring up at him with dark, beady eyes. He shifted his weight uncomfortably before settling himself upon one of the large wooden crates in the storage compartment. After a long moment of silence his gaze began to scan his surroundings. He looked down at a large, puffy label on the box upon which he sat.

"Gummi parts?" He mumbled softly to himself as he read the strange label.

"Yeah. Gummi. That is what our ship is made of!" Dale, the chipmunk with the large red nose, explained. Heero sighed before lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck.

"Gummi… like the stuff you eat?" He still couldn't believe he was conversing with a pair of mechanic chipmunks.

"Well, yeah. Sorta. It is made of a compound that is similar to the gummi they use to make gummi bears and stuff," answered Chip as he bounced around happily, "we find a lot of the compound in space. It is easy to mold into any shape you want!"

"And it smells like candy!" Dale, the sillier of the two chipmunks, replied.

Heero didn't know what to say in response. He just stared at the two chattering creatures with a blank thoughts before looking down at the gun he had still clutched tightly in hand. _I can't believe this is happening to me…_ he squeezed the gun's handle; _I am on a ship made of gummi, talking to two chipmunks…_ He clenched his teeth and sighed deeply. This situation was one that he had not been trained for. He had been so sure of himself until now. His abilities as a pilot had been superb and everything he had done thus far he had been ready mentally and physically for. But now that he was in this very awkward situation he wasn't sure how he should act. His first reaction was a violent one. _Just shoot everything on the ship and take it over, then return to Earth and complete my missions_… the thought echoed over and over in the back of his mind. However, he couldn't bring himself to strike at those who had shown no intention to cause him harm.

_If this is just a dream… then I can wake at any moment…_ He slowly let his fingertip graze the trigger of his gun. _Why fight it? If this is real… they are willing to help me return to my own world._ The thoughts were absurd but he had no other options. _I will let them help me, if they can. If I can find an opportunity to help myself along the way, I will take it._

He looked up from his gun to see Chip and Dale staring at him again, or rather, at his gun. The Japanese boy sucked in a deep, slow breath before sliding the gun back to its resting place within his suit. The two little creatures sighed in unison, relieved.

"What is Hollow Bastion?" Heero asked. The little animals both grinned and climbed up the side of the crate to sit on either side of him.

"Hollow Bastion is where all of our friends are. It is our headquarters." Chip squeaked. Dale nodded in agreement. "We can ask Cid and Merlin, the wizard, if they know about this Earth place."

Heero smirked at the mention of a wizard. _I have to remember this is just a strange dream... I will try to accept it as reality._ He decided resolutely. "And who is Cid? Is he an… animal, too?"

"Naw! Cid is a human like you. He is the best mechanic we know! He is an expert at gummi ships, and he knows a lot about other worlds." Dale explained. Just then the door to the storage unit slid open and Sora hesitantly entered.

"So… Heero, was it?" Sora asked, his eyes searching the Japanese boy's hands. He seemed to relax once he noticed that Heero was now unarmed. "We would like to help you find your world, Earth." The boy said, shifting his weight from one foot to another. "But… in order to do that you have to make a promise to us."

Heero quirked an eyebrow at Sora. _Promises? What sort of way to make deals are promises?_ He waited as the blue-eyed boy seemed to be searching for the right words to say.

"You've got to promise that you will trust us." Sora finally said. His eyes were unusually round and reflective. Heero blinked and stared into the other boy's bright blue eyes. He could see that Sora was sincere and honest. The other boy's emotions flashed plainly across his face. It was reminiscent of the Sandrock pilot, Quatre.

Heero sighed. He knew he could trust this other boy. He felt oddly comfortable locking eyes with him and reading his thoughts through his clear, trustworthy eyes.

"Fine." The Japanese boy finally said. He began to relax for the first time since boarding this ship. "I trust you…" He said flatly. "I promise." The words sounded strange clad in his own voice.

Sora smiled. His face practically glowed with happiness. "Great! I think we're going to be good friends."


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

Kingdom Wing: Ch 3

"Make sure you strap in nice and tight." Goofy said with a large grin over his shoulder at Heero, who had taken a seat in a squishy blue chair at the back of the command deck. He watched as Sora took his place at the front. Donald and Goofy settled themselves in seats flanking the boy's central command.

Heero pulled the straps on his seat until they held him tightly in place. Then he began observing the main deck of the ship. Everything was brightly colored and seemed to be made of a hard, indestructible plastic. There wasn't a single plate of brushed metal to be seen. He marveled at how cartoon-like everything seemed to be, and yet there was a vast amount of advanced technology as well. As Sora took his seat the platform in front of him came to life and the controls for the ship slid up from a hidden compartment in the floor. Screens and holograms came to life upon the large, curved window that looked out over the blue-black of space.

"You guys ready?" Sora asked happily. He looked back at Heero and gave him a sincere and confident smile before turning back to his controls. His hands began expertly manipulating the controls. The ship shuddered then began moving forward. It was moving very slowly. Heero had begun to wonder what this ship was meant for. Currently it was moving much like a cargo-ship in heavy, straight lines.

"Sora! Watch out!" One of the chipmunk's voices came over a radio.

"Gotcha! Let's get 'em." Sora exclaimed happily. Suddenly the ship rolled to the left. It shot forward at an amazing speed and began careening towards a cluster of meteors. Heero clutched the arms of his seat tightly. The ship shuddered.

"Behind us!" shouted a high-pitched voice. The ship spun around and began moving in reverse. Through the window Heero saw wide array of small oval-shaped blue things chasing after them. The ship began to vibrate. Balls of yellow and white light shot forward from the ship and struck the strange attacking blue things, vaporizing them instantly.

_What kind of ship is this…?_ Heero wondered as the ship began to barrel-roll left, only to do the same back towards the right. _It's fast. _ He tried to brace himself in his seat as the ship rolled and toppled in all directions. _How can he even see what is attacking?_ Heero tried his best to make out the enemies appearing in the window but it all just seemed like a huge jumble of color. This ship moved like no other mobile suit or ship he had ever experienced. This gummi ship seemed to have no limitations. It responded instantly to the pilot's command. At first the way the ship moved was unsettling, but after Heero had a few minutes to adjust the ride became exhilarating. He felt a grin creep across his face and could do little to retrain it. It was a fun ride, and he could do nothing but sit back and enjoy it.

He watched as Sora, Donald and Goofy worked as a team to avoid enemy attacks. The images on the radar soon dwindled to only a few enemies slowly floating before them. They were easily eliminated by a few shots from what Heero thought looked like lasers at the hull of the ship.

"We did it!" Squeaked Chip over an intercom system. "Hollow Bastion is just ahead!"

"Good job, guys." Sora said in his good-natured and sweet voice. He turned in his seat and peeked back at Heero with an accomplished smile. "How was the ride?"

Heero straightened in his seat. His amused expression faded into his serious, almost blank façade. "Fine…" He mumbled, his face growing hot, slightly embarrassed that the other boy may have caught him grinning like an idiot. Sora stifled a small laugh and returned to his commands.

"Donald, set our course to dock in Hollow Bastion, and Goofy can you-" Sora was cut off by a sudden violent shake of the ship. An alarm sounded from a blinking screen on the right of the control panel. Sora began tapping frantically at the keys. "What was _that_?!"

"Sora! There is something attached to the ship!" Dale's voice exclaimed through a speaker. "It won't break loose!"

"Goofy, pull up the starboard camera!" Sora yelled. Within moments an image popped up on the main screen. It revealed a spider-like red glowing creature with a single shimmering purple eye in the center of its body. Its eight long, metal-clad legs were wrapped tightly around the gummy ship's side. The ship rocked and then began shaking as the spider began to stab at the side of the ship with one of its sharp legs.

"We gotta shake it off!" Goofy wailed frantically.

Heero was shocked. He wasn't sure if it was some sort of weapon, another ship, or an actual living and breathing thing. He clutched at the arms of his chair again. _I have to do something_… he thought wildly. _I can't just sit here and watch it tear us apart._ He frowned and began unfastening his safety belts.

"Right! Hold on everyone." Sora slammed a fist down and then ship jumped forward, sending everyone flopping back in their seats and nearly flinging Heero out of his. The ship rolled to the right and then to the left, trying desperately to fling the creature off. However, it was no use. The spider would not budge. "I can't shake it!" Sora exclaimed, panic rising in his voice. Heero yanked roughly on the straps on his seat until finally they broke free. Then he jumped from his seat and ran out of the command deck.

"Wait! Heero! Stop!" Heero heard Sora calling after him. He made his way down a small corridor to the cargo hold. He could hear something akin to the sound of metal banging against metal become louder as he neared. He pulled the cargo hold door open and saw a massive dent deepening on the starboard side wall. Chip and Dale were all ready there, standing atop a crate beside the dent, chittering maniacally at one another. They both fell silent when they saw Heero enter.

"We can't stop it!" Chip wailed as he jumped up and down.

"Yeah! We don't know what to do!" Dale exclaimed, leaping into the air as well.

Heero immediately began to search the surrounding crates for anything he could use. Many of the crates were filled with miscellaneous gummi shapes, of which were no use to him.

"Do you have a fire extinguisher?" Heero asked plainly as he began digging through a box of gummi cubes. The spider was making steady progress. The pounding sound was then replaced by a loud, wretched scraping noise. The wall began to pulse and shift beneath the spider's attacks.

"A'course we have a fire extinguisher! But what good will that do, we aren't on fire!" Dale wailed loudly. He jabbed a paw behind Heero towards a small, red fire extinguisher that was bolted to the wall. It almost seemed too normal to be in this strange little ship. He quickly snatched it from its holder and returned to the two chipmunks who were now screaming frantically back and forth to one another. He scooped the little animals up in his hands and began carrying them towards the door.

"Hey! What're ya doing!"

"Put us down!"

"Tell Sora to hold the ship steady and do NOT open this door." Heero said coolly as he set the animals gently on the ground.

"Wait! Stop! What are ya gonna do?!"

"No! Don't –"

He closed the door. The scraping noise became louder and the wall began to bend and become dangerously thin. Quickly Heero snatched up his helmet and placed it over his head. Then he found a piece of rope and tied it securely around his waist, then fastened the opposite end to a pipe against the opposite wall. He picked up the fire extinguisher and waited.

_I don't know what else to do…_ he frowned and readied the extinguisher. _This is all I have to work with… it will have to do._ The wall burst open as a long, pointed leg pushed through it. A deafeningly loud hissing noise filled the cabin as the oxygen began to suck out through the puncture into space. The boxes in the cargo hold began to slide towards the puncture as well. The spider ripped the puncture on the wall wider and soon another leg joined the first. It's bright, glowing purple eye peered in through the hole. Heero smirked and aimed the extinguisher at it and released a thick ribbon of white into the peeking eye. The spider let forth a shrill, loud cry and retreated away from the hole. The suction of space began to pull Heero towards the ripped portion of wall but the rope held tight and kept him in place. The spider's eye returned, this time glowing red rather than purple, and its legs began to violently tear into the ship's side. One long, pointed leg thrust forth in attempt to jab at him. He leapt out of the way just before the pointed tip buried itself into his chest.

He shot more of the fluffy white fluid from the fire extinguisher at the eye. The spider's cry shook the ship. It began flailing six of its eight legs wildly within the cargo hold, knocking over large crates of gummi parts and practically crushing others beneath its huge, spiny appendages. Heero dodged a leg before it smashed into the side of his head and emptied the contents of the extinguisher on the creature. Then, in a last desperate attempt, he threw the empty canister at it. It slammed into the center of the eye. The spider howled then shrunk back out of the hole. The suction took hold of it and ripped it out of the hold and into the dark, vast expanse of space.

Once the spider retreated many of the boxes began to slip through of the hole as well, disappearing out of sight almost instantly. Soon the entire cargo hold was empty of everything except him.

Heero gripped onto the pipe he had fastened the rope to and held fast to keep himself from following the departing cargo. _Now how to get back inside… _he wondered, eyes scanning his surroundings for anything he could use. He saw the cargo door crack open and a figure pushed through it.

It was Sora. To Heero's surprise he wasn't wearing a space suit. Heero opened his mouth in protest but then was silenced by the sight of what could only be described as wind flowing in an orb around the other boy. Sora approached slowly. The pull of space seemed to have no effect on the boy as he floated lazily up to Heero in the swirling bubble.

"Give me your hand!" Sora yelled over the dull roar coming from the hole in the starboard wall. Heero hesitantly reached out to the bubble. His hand pierced the twisting surface followed by the sensation of a breeze blowing strongly against his arm. Sora grasped Heero's gloved hand and pulled him closer, tugging him inside the ball of wind. Heero felt something tug at his waist. He had forgotten about the rope. He pulled at the knot until it released. Sora smirked at him then wrapped his arm around Heero's waist to hold him in the center of the bubble. Then, with a gesture of his hand, the bubble began to float back towards the cargo door.

They floated leisurely through the door. Heero saw Donald and Goofy standing on the opposite side of the door holding it open just enough for them to slide through. Once inside the ship's main corridor the two creatures began straining against it to slam it closed. The bubble surrounding Heero and Sora vanished with a resounding POP leaving them hanging in the air for a moment before dropping them to the ground. Sora landed lightly on his feet. Heero managed to plant his feet on the ground and straightened to a wobbly stand.

"Are you okay?" Sora inquired, eying Heero closely for any sign of injury. Heero lifted his hands up to the helmet and slid it up and off of his head. Just as he did the grating sound of Donald's voice met his ears.

"You lost all of our gummi parts!" Donald screamed, his voice barely coherent. "How are we supposed to repair the ship if we don't have any parts!" Heero flinched as the duck erupted into a long string of jumbled curses.

"Gawsh, Donald. Don't be so hard on the guy. He did save us after all…" Goofy reasoned after Donald had finished his angry rant. The irritated duck merely huffed and crossed his wings tightly over his chest.

Heero frowned and turned to look at Sora, who was still eying him curiously. "Goofy is right. Heero did save us." Then he held a hand out at Heero. "I guess we are even."

Heero blinked and stared down at Sora's hand. What did he want to do with that? He lifted a dark eyebrow before hesitantly lifting his own hand. Sora immediately grabbed it and gave it a friendly shake.

_What a strange kid…_ Heero reflected as his hand was vigorously shook.

"What… was that thing?" Heero finally asked. He had so many questions but he could only manage to blurt one at a time. Sora dropped his hand and began rubbing the back of his head with the other.

"That? I am not sure exactly what that one in particular was, but it looked like a 'Heartless'." Sora replied. Goofy nodded his head in agreement.

"Heartless?" Heero echoed, then narrowed his eyes. "So those weren't ships? Those are living creatures?"

"Well… sorta." Sora replied. His face scrunched up in confusion. "It is kind of a long story, and really hard to explain. Let's get to Hollow Bastion first. Then I can explain everything to you." The boy said with a confident smile. Heero frowned, skeptical.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

Hollow Bastion appeared to be a small planet. So small, in fact, that a massive castle erected in the center of the planet could be seen as they approached. The gummi ship came to a bumpy landing at a space dock that looked like a pier. They exited the ship. As Heero stepped out onto the wooden dock he took in a deep breath. It even smelled like the ocean here. The air was fresh and clean, and the atmosphere was like that of Earth. _Do dreams have smells? _Heero wondered as he gulped down the fresh ocean air.

"This way." Sora encouraged as he turned to walk down the pier towards a cluster of buildings. Heero blinked and followed suit behind Donald and Goofy. Chip and Dale had remained on the ship to begin what little repairs they could.

They entered a village that looked like a replica of a historic European town. The houses and shops were short, squat buildings set in neat little rows. They were built almost identically. The only way to distinguish the different buildings were by flower pots on windowsills, or by carved wooden signs hanging over doorways.

Heero glanced around cautiously. The narrow streets were practically empty. Thin layers of dust covered many of the doors and shuttered windows. The town seemed all but abandoned. They came upon a flight of stone steps that led down to the village square. Heero noticed many colorful signs here, along with a clock tower at the far side.

"Hi Huey, Dewey and Louis!" Donald yelled as they entered the square. Three small white ducks padded up to them. They were identical and wore the same shirt and baseball cap. The only way to distinguish the difference between them was the color of their clothes.

"You guys want to buy anything?" The little duck in the red shirt asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Sorry, guys. We have to hurry and see Merlin." Sora said in an apologetic voice. The little duck in the blue shirt frowned and tapped his webbed foot impatiently.

"Geez! You guys haven't given us any business lately!" The young duck in the green shirt complained loudly. He received a rough thwap on the back of his feathered head from Donald.

"Donald… Goofy, gather some supplies. I'll be back in a bit. See ya later." Sora said happily as made his way cross the square. They walked through another series of winding, narrow cobblestone roads until they finally came to another smaller square in the center of the cluster of houses.

"Just over there…" Sora said with a grin. He pointed to a rounded door on the opposite side of the square. "I can't wait to introduce you to the guys."

Inside was a large blue screen opposite to the door. It flashed with diagrams and scrolled a language that Heero had never seen before. Beneath the screen was a glowing control panel with large, raised keys. The screen flashed furiously as if waiting for input from the user. To Heero's left was a raised circular platform with an aged wooden table and chairs. Books and a tea set were stacked haphazardly along the raised platform. Lining the walls on the left side of the house were cabinets filled with strange, dusty items. The air inside smelled of musty old books and mold. Piles of books lie in every corner. A huge hand-drawn map hung on the far wall, flanked by various framed paintings. The strangest thing of all was the tall, lanky old man that stood amongst the mess.

"Ah, Sora! What a surprise! I thought you wouldn't be returning until you visited Hercules!" The old man exclaimed. He was standing behind the raised platform. He trotted towards them, barely tripping over the outrageously long, white beard that swung from his chin. He wore half-moon spectacles that sat dangerously close to the tip of his nose. His bony, pale knees flashed into view from beneath his long blue robe and the pointed cap on his head brushed against a low-hanging bird cage as he approached.

_This must be the wizard._ Heero mused.

"We had to detour. Heero, this is Merlin, the wizard. Merlin, this is Heero. We found him floating in space." Sora said plainly, though his usual smile never left his face. Merlin paused in mid-step and nearly stumbled over his beard again.

"You found him in space? How peculiar…" The old man said. He began stroking his beard as he looked Heero over with a scrupulous eye. Heero shifted, uncomfortable under the old man's gaze.

"Yes. He is looking for his world…. Um, what was that again, Heero?"

"Earth." Heero said flatly. The old wizard's eyes widened and his jaw gaped slightly.

"You… my lad, are from Earth?"

Heero's heart began to thud violently. So the old man knew of Earth! Relief began to swim through his chest and had started to soothe his troubled mind.

"Yes. You have heard of it? How do I get back there?" Heero asked, clutching his hands into fists in anticipation. The wizard frowned. His bushy white eyebrows had crept closer together on his wrinkled forehead.

"I have been to Earth once, hundreds of years ago…" The man replied. Heero held his breath. The tone in the old man's voice was foreboding and mysterious. "But I never felt the need to go back. Earth is a terrible place, full of violent and harmful people." The wizard began pacing back and forth, his beard trailing behind him. "I went to visit a friend who had insisted that Earth should be saved, but it was no use- they got to him too. Next thing you know, he bought a gun and shot his neighbor! By-George it was awful news when I heard of it-"

Heero's eyes narrowed. He reached up to finger the handle of his gun that was securely hidden in the hem of his jeans.

"-I was so devastated. My poor friend was murdered in his sleep by his sister because he didn't get her a suitable Christmas present… after that funeral I swore never to return to that blasted place ever again-"

Heero opened his mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted by a slew of blurted words and phrases from the irritated wizard. There seemed to be no stopping the old man in mid-rant.

"-you should consider yourself lucky not to be there anymore, m'boy. You should be happy that Sora here has saved you from a fate of war and injustice, why… there is even speculation that the darkness first came from that blasted world so long ago, to infect the light of our worlds…"

Heero blinked at that. _Darkness? This man in nuts. He won't be able to help me._ He glanced over at Sora. The other boy was standing beside Heero with his jaw agape. Fear and concern was flashing across his face. Heero sighed.

"-I mean, Earth? EARTH! The last I heard that place of which you speak was caught between two dimensions, light-years away from here. The last I heard…why… it was destroyed by its own hate and greed and violence! BAH!" The old man threw his hands up and spun on his heels to face the two boys. "You cannot get to Earth without a lot of magic and energy, and I do not have the means to send you back. I am sorry. But I want no part of Earth, or anyone from there. NO PART OF IT!" Merlin's voice had risen to a practically frantic yell.

Heero was convinced the old man was insane. Sora had raised his hands up in a defensive gesture and was trying to calm the old man. "Merlin… please, Heero isn't like that. He saved us!"

The old man was shaking his head wildly. The tip of his beard became tangled in a dead, dry plant that sat on the end of the table. "No! All Earthlings are wicked and have darkness in their hearts! Nothing, no nothing, can change that!" The old man spun around to tromp away from them. Sora turned to give Heero an apologetic look before running after the old man.

"Merlin, wait. Please… Heero isn't like that…"

The wizard stomped in a circle before storming out the door. Sora looked over his shoulder at Heero.

"Wait here. I will be right back…" Then he vanished through the doorway after the madman.

Heero heard the old man's hollering voice retreating away from the door. Silence soon followed. He frowned and glanced around the abandoned house. His arms trembled with anger and frustration. He knew he would get no help from the old man, and now he was being labeled evil when he had done nothing to deserve it.

Or had he? He considered what the old man said. It was true… Earth was a violent place. Was the crazy old man so wrong in thinking that Heero would be a threat? After all, he had toyed with many violent notions since arriving in this peculiar universe.

He kicked a stack of books in frustration. They flew across the room and ripped into pieces. Pages floated through the air and settled across the table and scattered along the stone floor. Despite letting his anger out through his foot he still felt no relief from the pounding frustration from within.

"How am I ever going to get home?" He grumbled angrily to himself. His eyes searched the room again. He approached a globe that sat on a pedestal beside a stuffed otter that was standing on its back feet holding a compass between its small paws. The surface of the globe was faded. Heero couldn't make out any of the words or shapes. He wondered if it was a globe of Earth, or some other distant planet.

He wandered around the room, searching for anything that would give him information about where he was, or what the "Darkness" and "Heartless" was. Every book he fingered open revealed nothing but strange pictures or writing in characters that he gathered were alchemy runes.

As he made his way around the room he came upon a podium holding a single large hardbound book. The cover was faded and he could barely make out a picture of some yellow and pink blob on the front. He set his hand on the cover and felt its leather binding curiously. _This book must be important… it is set aside from the rest._ He slid a finger beneath the front cover and flipped it open.

He stared down at the first two pages. They were blank. He squinted his eyes and touched the smooth paper. Just as his finger made contact a bright white light emanated from the pages, blinding him. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the intense light. When it faded away he found himself standing on a large plain of white. He spun on his feet and searched around frantically.

"Where am I?" He said aloud. His voice echoed across the vast nothingness. He took a step forward. He heard a faint rubbing noise, followed by a crunch. Surprised, he looked down and saw the white plain he was standing on was… paper? He knelt down and touched the ground. It was rough and bent when he pressed it. It was paper! He frowned when he saw a large dip not too far away. It was the center of a book where the paper was bound to the binding. He jumped across the dip and saw in the distance something colorful. It was a tree made out of paper, erected upright against the bright white horizon. He ran toward it.


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

Chapter 5: "The 100 Aker Wood"

Heero followed a narrow, winding path through the woods until he came upon a small clearing in the trees. Sunlight poured down through the top layer of leaves to illuminate the clearing, revealing a charred spot on the ground that had been what Heero could only guess to be a campfire. A long log lay on its side beside the cold, charred pile of ash. Beside the log lie an upturned jar with the word "HUNNY" scrawled on the side in messy lettering. The second letter "N" was written backwards.

Heero raised a dark eyebrow and approached the campfire cautiously. As he neared he saw very small, round footprints in the dry dirt around the campsite. The footprints circled the campfire and log quite a few times. A large cluster of the prints were located near the honey jar. After studying the footprints for a minute or two he noticed that they traveled away from the campfire to a nearby walnut tree. Only then did he notice that an old, worn door was propped up in the center of the tree's trunk. A sign over the door had been made out of a chunk of wood carved roughly to read "Mr. SANDERZ," in the same messy manner as the honey pot.

He stepped around the large trunk of the walnut tree and saw that what he thought was a small hill behind the tree was actually an extension to the hidden house. A long, crooked smokestack poked through the grass as well as a rectangular window that had been pushed open an inch or two. He crept cautiously towards the window, wondering what sort of insane creature he was going to encounter next.

As he neared the window he heard a faint sound from the trail from which he had come. He knelt down and slid behind the backside of the partially-buried house and peered around the corner at the clearing. A very small figure came into view. It was a yellow bear a little over 2 feet tall. It was walking on its back feet and wore an old, faded red shirt that seemed much too small for its stout and chubby frame. It walked at an awkward, seemingly uncomfortable gait. Heero noticed that its arms and legs were stiff and it didn't seem to be capable of bending its arms and legs, causing it to swivel and waddle as it walked.

He narrowed his eyes and tried to make out its face. It had a carefree, happy grin beneath two small, black beady eyes. _A walking teddy bear… this place is crazy, _he thought with a faint shake of his head. Suddenly the bear stopped. One of its small, round ears twitched. It turned and looked directly at Heero.

Heero sucked in a sharp, anxious breath and jumped back behind the corner of the house. Almost in the same instant he scolded himself. _It is just a child's toy… what do you have to be afraid of?_ He almost laughed at how absurd this entire situation was. With a bit of forced effort he poked his head back around the corner of the house.

The bear was standing completely still, watching him. Then it raised one of its round, stiffened arms and pointed at him. Heero nearly bit his tongue clean off. He leapt back again and shook his head roughly. Memories of Duo's bad horror flicks and the possessed dolls that were the topic matter of said movies flashed in his mind. _I don't care if it is just a little toy, it's creepy and I've seen enough! _He grit his teeth and turned to run, then paused. Where would be able to hide? He knew he could outrun the stupid bear, it could barely walk, but where would he go? Immediately he made out the faint sound of grass rustling nearby. He looked up, grabbed the edge of the brittle shingles on the house and pulled himself up onto the roof.

_It can't get to me up here._ He thought warily. He then peeked over the edge of the roof to the ground below. The fat little teddy bear was hobbling through the grass towards the back of the house and once there stopped and looked around. Heero hesitantly looked down at the bear, holding his breath. The bear lifted an arm to scratch the side of its head then turned around a few times to inspect his surroundings.

"It must have been a burglar." The bear said in a soft voice as it inspected the backside of the house. It shrugged its small shoulders slightly then began waddling away towards the front of the walnut tree. Heero watched it go and sighed. _A talking teddy bear._ _It doesn't seem like a threat. _He thought with a frown. He jumped to the ground from the roof and peered around the corner again and watched as the bear vanished around the smooth, hollow trunk of the tree. _Maybe it can tell me how to get back to the wizard's house._ Hesitantly he walked towards the front of the tree, scolding himself for being frightened of a stupid little plushy. He heard the door creak to a close just as he came around to the clearing. He studied the door for a moment before approaching it as he had before. A bell dangled at the top left corner of the door, attached to a short piece of thick rope. He gave the rope a sharp tug, causing the bell to sound loudly in the silence of the woods. He waited. He could hear a faint shuffle coming from the opposite side of the door. Then it slid open slowly. The face of the bear appeared in the thin opening.

"Yes? How may I help you?" Asked the little bear as it peered up at Heero with a curious expression. Then the bear blinked and frowned. "Aren't you the boy who was going to steal my hunny?"

Heero frowned and shook his head. "No. I wasn't going to steal anything."

"Is that so?" The stout little bear said absently, lifting a short arm up to touch its chin. "Then what were you doing behind my house? And why did you run away?"

Heero scowled and rolled his eyes. "I…" His eyes scanned the tree and the clearing. He squinted up against the sun and saw an oblong shape within a cluster of leaves. It was a beehive. Small black specks flitted nervously around the hive. Bees.

"I was being chased by a bee." Heero blurted awkwardly, a strained smile crossing his face. The bear pondered this thought for a moment before nodding his head.

"Oh yes. Bees tend to be quite pesky this time of year." The little bear replied before jutting a plushy arm towards Heero. "My name is Edward Bear, but my friends call me Winnie the Pooh. Or, Pooh... for short. It is nice to meet you… mister…?"

"Heero." Heero stated plainly as he stared down at the plump, plushy arm that had been extended to him. The bear nodded then made a jerky motion with its arm. Heero reluctantly grasped the tip of the squishy extremity and shook it gently before snatching his hand back to rest at his side.

"Mister Heero, what brings you here to the Hundred Acre Wood?" The small bear cordially inquired. The door to the house had been opened all the way to reveal a dark, crowded room within littered with empty honey jars and rickety, worn furniture. A coo-coo clock chimed the hour from somewhere inside.

"I am lost. I am looking for… Merlin's house?" He said slowly. "Do you know how to get there?"

"Merlin? I am afraid I don't know any Merlin." The bear said slowly, eying Heero with curiosity. "I am sorry…"

Heero sighed and frowned deeply. "Never mind." _Am I doomed to be hopelessly lost?_ The thought irritated him. He felt completely helpless here in this strange world, and at the mercy of these odd, unusual creatures. Never in his life had he experienced anything like this. It was trying on his patience and his nerves. Annoyed, he turned to stalk moodily towards the side lying log beside the snuffed campfire and, with an exasperated sigh, slumped down to a sit. He picked up a stick and began idly prodding at the ashes of the campfire.

_I can't believe this is happening to me… _He began tracing out his original plans for the Lunar Base mission in a short pile of ashes on the ground. _This can't be real, but why does it feel like it is?_ He frowned and dropped the stick on the ground and buried his face into his hands. _I keep trying to rationalize everything here, but nothing makes sense. How can these places exist? How can a ship be made out of candy? How can animals walk and talk like humans? How did Sora do that wind thing back on the ship? _He began rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. The thoughts he had been trying to hard to ignore began to flood into his mind and overload his senses. His temples began to ache. _No matter how much I try to ignore it, I can't forget how grossly wrong this whole thing is. I feel so helpless. I don't understand this world. I don't get it. I can't bring myself to trust in anything here because it is all so bizarre. Now, the 'wizard' is pissed off at me, Sora probably thinks I am a complete monster and I am stuck in a stupid book with a retarded, obese teddy bear._

As if summoned the bear appeared and sat on the log beside him.

"Mr. Heero, are you okay?" Heero felt one of its stuffed paws touch his arm. "You look sick."

Heero grit his teeth and sucked in a deep, soothing breath. He sat upright and looked down at the bear who sat beside him. Winnie the Pooh.

"I am fine." He said softly, narrowing his eyes at the plushy creature. The bear shook his head and made a face that Heero assumed was supposed to be a frown, though its fabric made it difficult for it to pull its features in that direction.

"You look upset. I am sorry I don't know your friend Merlin but maybe Owl will. He knows much more than I do, and he knows a lot of people. Maybe he can help you find your Merlin?" The bear replied with a light, optimistic tone. Heero swallowed back some of the panic that had surfaced in his chest. _It is no use having a breakdown…_ he thought to himself. _It won't help any. _He scowled, but then his expression softened as the bear continued to look up at him with a hopeful expression. The situation he was in now was oddly similar to that of Sora bringing him to Merlin for answers.

"Fine." He said flatly before eying the little bear closely. "Where is … Owl?"

Pooh's face lit up into a cheeky smile and he made a lazy gesture towards another path that led through the woods. "He lives not too far in that direction. I can take you to him, but first I must have a smidgen to eat." He touched the protruding bulge of stomach that poked out from beneath his small, red shirt. "I have quite a rumbly in my tumbly."

Heero blinked at the last statement. The bear hopped up from his spot on the log and began waddling towards his house. Heero stood and followed him. Once inside the dimly lit room the bear began picking up random honey jars. He would look inside, flip it over, give it an experimental shake, then look to see if any honey had come out. He did this quite a few times before Heero interrupted.

"Can you eat after we see Owl?" Heero asked impatiently. Pooh paused in his honey search and gave the pilot an incredulous stare.

"Of course not…" The bear replied before moving on to the next empty jar. "Oh bother… it seems that I am all out of hunny. I am afraid I just can't take you to see Owl on an empty stomach."

Heero's eyebrow twitched. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest and tried to keep his rising tempter in check. "Maybe OWL will have something for you to eat at his house?" Heero said with forced calm. The bear frowned and began scratching his head in thought.

"No. I know for a fact Owl doesn't like hunny."

Heero's fingers twitched. _Must… not… strangle … bear…_ Thoughts of throttling the bear's little neck flashed through his mind as his patience wavered. He closed his eyes and tried to think of how to get the stupid toy to bring him to the Owl. Then an idea came to him.

"What about the beehive at the top of this tree? Wouldn't that have honey?" He asked quickly.

Pooh had stuffed his head into a larger honey pot and at the sound of Heero's voice attempted to pull his head from it. However, it seemed that the bear's head had gotten stuck. It began to flail its thick, squishy arms wildly while pawing desperately at the pot that had lodged on its face.

Heero rolled his eyes and quickly approached the little bear. He grabbed the pot and gave it a rough tug. Extracting the pot in this way didn't seem to have the desired effect. Rather than pulling the pot loose he had only managed to pull the pot and the bear towards himself. He tried several more times to tug the pot off of the bear but to no avail. The problem was the bear was too light and every time he tried to yank the pot from his head he would only manage to drag the bear across the floor with it.

He knew an easy solution to this problem.

He knocked the bear over onto its back. Pooh gave forth a muffled yell from inside the pot as he landed on his backside. Then Heero planted a foot firmly on the bear's round tummy and held him firmly against the floor. The plush stomach gave a loud squeaking noise, like that of a dog toy, as he applied firm pressure with his foot. Heero rolled his eyes at the absurd little sound. Then, with both hands, he grabbed the honey pot and yanked. The pot came free with a dull "PLOP."

Pooh gasped for air then rolled back and forth in attempt to right himself. However, due to the lack of flexibility of his limbs, he could do little more than flail frantically back and forth in his attempt to stand up. Heero sighed and grabbed the bear by the back of his shirt and pulled him up to a stand.

"Thank.. .you…" Pooh managed to mumble between pants. He looked down at his stomach where Heero had lodged his foot. A large, dusty footprint had been left on his belly and the front of his shirt. He began absently dusting it off. "As for the beehive… I would like to have that hunny… but you see, I am not so good at climbing, and it is quite a ways up the tree. I am afraid it is impossible to reach."

Heero rubbed the back of his own neck in thought. "If I get the honey for you, will you take me to this… Owl thing?"

Pooh's eyes brightened in delight. "Why, yes. Of course. But how are you ever going to get way up there?"

The corner of Heero's mouth twitched. "I have my ways…"


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

Chapter Six

Heero squinted his eyes against the bright sunlight to get a better look at the round, yellow beehive that hung beneath one of the highest branches of the walnut tree. Pooh waddled up beside him and tugged gently at his pant leg.

"Um… Mister Heero, do you intend to climb? Perhaps I can get a bit of rope for you in case you slip?" Pooh inquired. Heero shook his head, lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the sun, and then peered even harder at his target.

"That won't be necessary." He mumbled softly, tilting his head as if to get a different angle of the object. After studying the beehive for another minute or two he was satisfied with his mental calculations of distance and angle. He smirked, satisfied, and then turned to look down at the bear who was staring up at him with curiosity. Heero turned and spotted the honey pot from the campsite and handed it to the bear.

"When it falls, try to catch it in this." He said slowly as if to make sure the little plushy understood his instructions. Pooh nodded his head in acknowledgment. Satisfied that the bear would do as told, he turned and walked a good distance down the path. After 50 feet he turned around and looked up at the high bough of the tree. Then he slid his hand into the hem of his jeans, pulled out his gun, and began to aim at the spot that connected the hive to the underside of the branch. He lined the sights up and gently squeezed the trigger. The sound of the shot resonated through the quiet woods. He saw Pooh jump out of the corner of his eye.

BANG. BANG-BANG.

After three shots the hive swung dangerously on the branch. The bees had been startled awake and were now swarming angrily around their damaged home. A thin line of honey dripped from it and fell to the ground beside Pooh.

Heero's eyes narrowed. He hadn't expected it to take so many shots. He knew he had only six shots left in his clip and he didn't want to waste them on a stupid beehive. He sighed in agitation and then began searching the ground for a rock. He found a suitable one a few feet away. It was round and roughly the size of a baseball. Quickly he twisted his body, wound back his arm and, with great effort, threw the rock as hard as he could. It slipped through the air and struck the beehive with a loud crunch, knocking it free from the branch. Pooh attempted to catch the falling hive with the pot, but missed. It landed with a loud, wet splat on the dusty ground beside him. Honey began to ooze across the ground. Heero ran as fast as he could up to the bear and snatched the pot from his hand. Then he lifted the wrecked remains of the beehive and stuffed them into the pot. A few stray bees were stuck in the gooey mess.

Then a loud hum filled the air. Heero looked up at where the beehive had previously been. The bees had gathered together to make a thick, oblong swarm. It writhed and shifted angrily.

_This isn't good…_ Then the bees began to form a shape. _An… arrow?_ The tip of the arrow was pointed directly at him. The bees responded to their orders and began flying quickly towards him. Heero's eyes widened as he watched the onslaught of angry bees approach.

"Move!" Heero commanded loudly. He snatched up the honey pot under an arm and the plushy bear under his other and began running into the house. The buzzing of the bees became a dull roar as they neared. Heero ducked into Pooh's house and slammed the door closed with a loud bang. He dropped the bear and the pot on the ground. The front door of the bear's small house shook as the bees slammed into it. He ran to the open window and tugged it close just as the bees approached. He released a loud sigh of relief at having escaped the highly agitated bugs. He turned around to look at the bear who was now sitting on the floor sucking on one of his honey-covered paws.

"It seems that you have made them very mad." Pooh said between smacks of his bear lips. Heero frowned and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You could have just asked them for some hunny, rather than shoot down their house." The bear stated matter-of-factly as he dug around in the bottom of the pot.

Heero felt his hands clench into tight, white-knuckled fists. _Little ungrateful bastard._ He fumed angrily as he watched the bear finish off his difficulty obtained snack.

"Can we go now?" Heero asked impatiently. The bear was licking the inside of the honey pot. Once he was satisfied that every smudge of honey was gone he looked up at Heero and gave him a faint nod.

"Why, yes. I think we can go, now that my tummy is full." Pooh pulled himself to a wobbly stand. Heero noticed that the bear's stomach was considerably distended. The bear led him to the door then peeked through the keyhole. The buzzing from the bees had vanished, leaving behind peaceful silence of the woods. He opened the door and began hobbling out onto the trail.

"Follow me. Owl's house is just East of here." The bear stated as it made its way down the trail in the direction Heero had come. Heero followed the rotund bear to the end of the path. As they walked the world around them slowly began to fade to white. The trees became translucent and the ground began to turn to paper. Soon they were standing on the empty plane from which Heero had come. Pooh had stopped walking and was looking around in confusion.

"Oh … dear, where am I? Owl's treehouse. It should be just here." The bear pointed to a bare spot on the paper. "But it isn't. Oh, bother…"

Heero felt a frown creep across his face. He turned an annoyed eye to his blank surroundings. It stretched as far as the eye could see. He looked up. Over his head was a high ceiling of black.

"I am sorry, Mister Heero. I am not sure why, but it seems that the woods have been erased." Pooh said, rubbing his chin softly with a stuffed paw. Heero sucked in a deep breath through his nose and grit his teeth. He was frustrated. All of the time he had spent with the stupid bear had been wasted. He was almost engulfed by a swarm of angry bees for nothing and he had wasted three bullets!

"I suppose I should go back home, and see if anyone else is lost, too." The bear said quietly. He could tell that this entire predicament of the woods vanishing had disturbed the bear. "Goodbye, Mister Heero." Then the tubby bear turned to leave, vanishing into the pop-up of his walnut tree.

Heero sighed and turned around to look in the opposite direction. The white paper just stretched as far as his eye could see. The book's open, empty pages reminded him of the desert, free of life and contour. Just a flat, white expanse of nothingness. However, this place had no sun. Instead, the paper itself seemed to glow, blinding him with its bright white light.

At loss for any other plan he just decided to walk. Slowly he began to move in the direction opposite of the pop-up tree towards the inner spine of the book. Just as he reached it he saw something moving in the distance. He froze, instinctively grabbed his gun, and waited. It was a dark, indistinct blob at first but as it approached he began to notice the ruffling of brown hair and the flailing of limbs.

"Sora?" He mumbled to himself as he watched the other boy run toward him.

"Heero! I am so glad I found you!" Sora exclaimed happily. His smile widened as he approached. "I knew you would be here!"

Heero put his gun back in its hiding spot tucked against his body beneath the hem of his jeans as the other boy slowed to a walk. "How did you know I was here?"

"Well, when I came back the book was open, so I figured as much." Sora said with a shrug. Then the boy looked over his shoulder at the pop-up of Pooh's house in the distance. "So you meet Pooh, yet?"

Heero grunted and his eyebrow involuntarily twitched. "Unfortunately…"

Sora laughed, and his laughter made Heero want to punch him in the face. He was irritated, and he couldn't understand how this other boy could be so damn… happy. It reminded him of Duo, and therefore of Earth. Those thoughts began to fester in the pit of his stomach, causing him to have a sour and uneasy feeling.

"Come on, let's go back." Sora said. His large shoes made dull thumping noises as he padded across the paper in the direction from which he had run. Heero followed him mutely, wondering how Sora knew how to get in and out of this book. As he went he began to study the other boy. Until now, he had not had a quiet moment with him. The first thing he noticed was the other boy was the same age as himself. He was the same height, had the same long legs and simlilar slightly muscled arms. He was also wearing a very intricate black outfit with a lot of zippers and pockets. He had noticed the other boy wore a thick, heavy looking chain around his neck with a crown on it.

He began to wonder how Sora had gotten into the situation he was in now. Why was he flying a ship between worlds? Was he part of a rebellion like himself? Was there a war, and perhaps the 'Heartless' was a codename for the enemy? And how did Sora do that miraculous thing back on the ship? Was it some sort of advanced technological shield or magic? There was, after all, a wizard in this world so magic was completely plausible.

Sora paused and turned to peer over his shoulder at Heero. A small grin graced his boyish face. "Okay, you first." He said to Heero, gesturing ahead of himself. The Japanese boy looked around Sora to see a glowing ring on the ground. Sparkles rose from its surface and vanished into the air. "Just step inside that."

Heero hesitantly approached it. Sora noticed his hesitation and laughed.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt." And with a playful shove the other boy pushed Heero into the glowing spot on the ground. Heero started and was about to spin on his heel and punch Sora square in the jaw when the world around him swirled, vanished for a second, then faded in to the dark and musty house of the wizard.

Perturbed, Heero spun around and saw Sora standing behind him with an amused smirk.

"Ah, so you found him!" Heero heard the voice of the wizard behind him. He resisted the urge to groan. Merlin approached them. He seemed calm and collected but his eyes flashed with restrained, well-concealed anxiety. "I am sorry for my outburst earlier, m'boy, I just get carried away sometimes. You know, with emotions and such, wot wot!" The old man stumbled towards his tea pot on the table and lifted it into the air in offering. Some of the tea spilled from the spout and landed on the sleeve of his robe. "Care for some tea?"

Heero shook his head.

Merlin shrugged and poured himself some in a cracked teacup. He sipped at it noisily.

Sora stepped up beside Heero. "Merlin says he knows a way we can send you back to your world." The other boy said excitedly. Heero sighed. He didn't want to get too excited by another possibly failing prospect of going home. He studied the wizard closely before glancing over at Sora. The other boy was toying with the charm on his necklace absently. The fumbling with the silver adornment caught Heero's attention and his eyes immediately settled on it.

"Why yes, you see I have a master who taught me magic. Master Yen Sid. I know that Sora, here, has met him once before. Master Yen Sid in the most powerful living wizard in this day and age. He knows a spell that can send you back to your world. However, it requires- as I said – a great deal of power. In order for him to use that spell you will have to retrieve Objects of Power."

Heero raised a brow at that. He noticed that Sora shifted his weight and seemed to be uncomfortable.

"What are those?" Sora finally asked. Merlin, who had been waiting to be prompted to speak more, smiled widely.

"Why- the Objects of Power are artifacts from different worlds. They are items that give the user great power. They can be in the form of many things, from a thimble to a cannon. It will be up to you to find them and bring them to Master Yen Sid so he can use their power to send your friend home." Merlin replied cheerfully, slurping up his tea some more. A small trail of the tea had begun to leak from the crack in the teacup to dribble down his beard.

Sora tensed and for the first time since Heero had met the other boy he saw frustration reflect through large, shining blue eyes. Guilt began to surface in Heero's mind.

"How many Objects of Power do we need?" Sora asked hesitantly, as if afraid of the answer.

Merlin paused in mid-sip to regard the boy with a raised, thick white brow. "Hmn… I am not sure. Just to be safe I say you should gather five. Five, ah! Yes. A good number for magical concoctions. Five eyes of newt, five tongues of evil step-sisters… Why, every brew I have ever made always had FIVE of something. Yes. Definitely five."

Heero saw Sora shrink a little as Merlin replied.

"Okay, then." Was all Sora managed to say. He turned to look at Heero with a wide, forced smile. "Guess we better get going to tell the guys." Before Heero could reply the other boy had hurried up to the front door. He flailed an arm at Merlin in what Heero thought was a wave.

"Bye Merlin! See ya later!" Then he vanished through door. Heero quickly followed him. Once outside in the small square of houses Sora turned to look at him, his fake smile plastered firmly on his face. "Okay, so you should go get some gear with Donald and Goofy. You know the way, right?"

Heero nodded, eying the other boy curiously.

"Good. I'll meet you there in a little bit." And without another word Sora turned to leave. He vanished around the corner of a small, dilapidated house. Heero watched him leave, frowned deeply, then turned to walk towards the merchant square where they had left Donald and Goofy.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

Chapter Seven

Heero walked slowly towards the archway that led to the Marketplace. He could see the steps that led up to it ahead. His feet felt heavy as if they were full of lead and his entire body felt as if a weight had been settled upon it. He stopped just before the large stone partition and turned to look down the narrow street he had just walked through.

Something blue glowed on the ground. Then, with a low sound like a computer booting up, a bright blue holographic pillar shot up in the air about ten feet before settling down into the cobble stones. The source of the light moved along the ground and vanished around a corner.

Heero's shoulders tightened as his muscles tensed in preparation for an attack. Nothing came. The blue light had vanished and it didn't seem like it would return.

_What was that?_ He wondered curiously, his eyes still locked on the spot where the strange light had vanished. He wondered if what he had just seen was harmful, or not. _Sora might be in trouble._ He reasoned. _What if that thing attacks him?_

His mind was made up. Rather than return to Donald and Goofy, who still made him somewhat uncomfortable, he would find Sora and make sure that… thing… doesn't harm him. He began running through the pathway between the low, abandoned houses to the small square where he and Sora had last been together. Then he bounded around the corner where Sora had vanished. He came to a set of stairs that went up to a higher level of the town. From there he could see the entire housing area from above. The path that the stairs had led to only went one way, so he followed it until he came to a dimly lit bailey. Immediately upon entering the Bailey he found Sora.

The boy was standing near a gaping opening in the bailey wall. He was leaning his elbow on the top of the low stone, his chin rested heavily upon an upturned hand. Heero approached him slowly, revealing himself from a dark shadow against the wall. As he did Sora straightened and spun around to face him. The hand where his chin had formerly rested opened empty to the air. A flash of light came from his hand and when the light faded a long, sword-like object was in his hand.

Heero threw his hands up and blinked. No, it wasn't a sword. It was a key. A massive, block-toothed key. Sora immediately relaxed upon seeing Heero and dropped the end of the key so that if pointed to the uneven stone floor.

"Oh. Sorry, you surprised me." Sora said kindly as he offered Heero an apologetic grin. Heero noticed that the boy's eyes were clouded over and around his eyes was puffy and swollen. He also thought that Sora's cheeks looked flushed.

"I have decided that I want to search for the Objects of Power myself." Heero stated plainly. He was surprised at himself for saying such a thing so suddenly, but he knew that the other boy had been stressed out about the idea of having to help him. He assumed that Sora had more important things to do and that he, himself, was capable of finding these things on his own.

Or at least… he thought he was capable. He wasn't so sure about anything anymore.

Sora's eyes had widened considerably. "No! I want to help you, really, I do…" His voice trailed off. Heero saw that he was hesitant to speak again.

"I know it is my task." Heero said calmly. "And I thank you for all that you have done so far, but I can handle it from here." He tried to exude as much confidence as he could. The boy shook his head wildly.

"Please, I want to help you! That is what friends do for one another-"

Heero cocked his head to the side. "Friends…?"

Sora's smile brightened and nodded his head vigorously. "Yeah! Friends stick together. You are my friend, Heero, and I want to help you."

Heero felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. His eyes narrowed. He felt like he was going to be sick. Sora's words echoed in his mind, though as they repeated themselves in his ears Sora's voice was replaced by Duo's. The American pilot had always told Heero that he was his friend, and shared the same sentiments that Sora had about friendship. Heero grit his teeth and resisted the urge to groan in anguish at the sudden wave of emotion that swept over him. Loss, pain, anger and frustration all churned in his stomach and crippled his thoughts.

"Then, at least, let it be known that I owe you a favor." Heero replied. Sora nodded in agreement. A long silence passed between them before Heero awkwardly tried to make conversation. "What … is that thing?" He asked, gesturing to the large key.

"Oh." Sora frowned and looked down at his hand. "It is called a Keyblade." He said. "I guess it is about time I start explaining things to you…" He sighed and, with a wave of his hand the key vanished into thin air.

_So he does know magic._ Heero realized. He approached Sora slowly and leaned against the nearby wall, regarding the other boy with a casual stare. Sora relaxed and rubbed the back of his head in thought.

"I guess the best way to tell you is to start from the beginning… when I was a kid, or… rather, a year or so ago I was just a normal kid. I lived with my parents, and hung out with my best friends Riku and Kairi on this island near our home. We were young, and stupid. Well, one night there was a really bad storm and I went to see if Riku and Kairi were okay, and the world went nuts." Sora frowned. His eyes closed as if in concentration. Heero saw his face contort and he wondered if Sora was seeing the events over again in his memories.

"Everything exploded into what felt like billions of pieces. The Keyblade magically appeared in my hand. I started using it to find my friends, but … somehow I got stuck on this epic quest to save the world." He opened his eyes and stared at Heero for a moment. "I found one of my friends, and now she is back home. But Riku, my best friend, is missing. I am looking for him now."

Heero frowned and pitied Sora. _He was just an ordinary kid…_ he reflected solemnly, _and then the weight of the world fell upon him._ He narrowed his eyes in thought. _He needs my help… I will led a hand in any way I can._

"What are 'Heartless'." Heero asked. Sora's frown deepened and he began picking at a stone on the wall.

"It is really complicated. Basically, they are monsters. Maybe after you see some you will understand. Honestly… right now, I just want to find my friend and go home… but … other people need me too. And, while others need me, I will help them. The Keyblade 'chose' me. I guess that is my destiny…" Sora said quietly before grinning boyishly at him. "Kinda epic, huh? But first and foremost I am gonna help my new friend. Don't worry, Heero. We are gonna find your world."

Heero just nodded and looked out over the opening in the Bailey wall to the view of a castle beyond. The castle was dark and twisted against the purple tinted sky.

"What about you? How did you end up in space?" Sora asked, genuinely interested. Heero shrugged his shoulders.

"On my planet, Earth, there is a war going on. I fight for the colonies, a group of people who live in space just outside of Earth. I got in an accident on a ship just before you found me." Heero replied plainly. Sora took in every word Heero said and seemed to be analyzing them.

"So you are a soldier?" Sora asked, his eyes bright with interest.

"Practically." Heero replied, crossing his arms over his chest. Sora nodded in understanding and then smiled.

"Well, good. I was worried you wouldn't be able to keep up with me." Sora said with a wink. "You haven't seen me in action yet!"

Heero smirked and rolled his eyes. "Right… what do you do, bludgeon people with your stick?" Sora laughed and shook his head.

"Soon enough you will get a chance to see." Sora said with a smile. "Come on, Donald and Goofy are probably wondering where we are."

Heero nodded and watched as Sora walked towards the Bailey's opening.

"Thank you." Heero said. Sora paused in mid-step and turned to eye Heero closely.

"For what?"

"Helping me. I appreciate it."

Sora grinned and gave him a playful wink. "You're welcome. Come on, I am starved!"

Heero sighed and trailed along after him, surprised at how similar his new companion was to a certain loud-mouthed, braided Gundam pilot he had left behind.


	8. Chapter 8

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Chapter Eight

The distinct rise of voices locked in heated argument sounded through the air as Heero and Sora approached the Marketplace. As the square came into sight Heero spotted Donald. He was jumping up and down yelling incoherently, his arms flailing his stick-like weapon wildly.

"Whatdoyoumean9,000munny!!Wearen'tmadeofmunny!Thatishighwayrobbery,areyoucrazy?!" The duck rambled. He was yelling at a tall, blond man. As they approached Heero noticed the man was quite muscular, had goggles propped up on the top of his head, and was chewing absently on a massive toothpick that protruded from the corner of his mouth. After Donald's eruption the man lifted his hands in a peaceful gesture before shrugging his shoulders lazily.

"That is my price, take it or leave it." He said in a slightly southern drawl. The toothpick rolled from one corner of his mouth to the other. "That ship has a lot of damage and I don't work for peanuts."

"Hey, Cid!" Sora chirped as they approached. The man looked up from the angry duck and smiled cheerfully.

"Hey Sora! How have ya been?"

Sora shook hands with the burly blond. "Oh, I'm doing great! Heero, this is Cid, the best pilot and gummi ship mechanic there ever was." The man called Cid thrust a thick-fingered hand towards Heero.

"Nice to meet ya, Heero." Cid said as Heero grasped his hand. The mechanic gave it a strong, firm shake before turning back to Sora.

"You've got a lot of damage there. I'll have to special order some of the parts… I told your ducky friend here that it is going to cost you 9,000 munny for the whole job, and that isn't even charging you labor." Cid stated. Sora nodded in acknowledgment and didn't seem to find the price to be too excessive.

"I appreciate that." Sora said with a smile. "When can you have it done?"

Cid lifted a hand and began doing silent calculations on his fingers. His eyebrows gathered in the center of his forehead as he thought. "Well… lemme see, I am going to have to wait for my order, and then it will take me at least 4 hours to assemble the new parts, then I gotta fuse it all together and paint it so probably," the toothpick wiggled back and forth in his mouth, "a day and a half. I should have it done by then."

Heero saw Sora's eyes shift at that. "That sounds fine. I guess, in the meantime, we can go help with some work for the Restoration Committee."

Cid nodded. "Come by tomorrow evening. I'll have it done for you and then you can be on your merry way." Cid replied coolly. Sora nodded, glanced over at Heero, and then put his finger to his chin in thought.

"So where is everyone else? Merlin said they were all out of the house all day." Sora inquired. As Sora and Cid exchanged niceties Heero had begun to study the merchant's square more closely. Goofy was napping on his back on a row of crates nearby with his head resting on his shield. The dog's long nose twitched with every loud snore. Donald was standing beside Sora, glaring angrily at Cid. The triplet ducks from earlier in the day were each behind the counter of three different shops. One appeared to be a clothing shop. Another had pictures of bottles over it. Maybe it sold food or supplies? Heero wasn't sure about the last one.

"-See you later." Sora's voice broke through Heero's thoughts. He looked to see Sora waving at Cid as the large man loped away towards the pier where the ship was docked. After Cid vanished from sight Sora looked down at Donald, glanced at Goofy then approached Heero with a friendly smirk.

"I'm going to talk to Donald and Goofy for a minute and tell them about the Objects of Power. Why don't you go take a look around? It looks like we are going to be here for a while. I'll grab you in a minute and we can take a look around."

Heero nodded and silently watched as Sora approached Donald, said something quietly to him, then walked towards the pier. Donald waddled up to the snoozing dog and poked him in the shoulder. Goofy continued to snore loudly. Frustrated, Donald yelled as loud as he could. It startled Goofy to a stand. They exchanged a few words before following suit behind Sora, disappearing up the steps towards the pier.

Now that Donald was gone the square was strangely silent. Heero stood for a few minutes and watched as the triplets threw paper airplanes from one merchant stall to another. A light, refreshing breeze blew through the square, caught hold of one of the paper airplanes in mid-flight and sent it careening towards the stairs that led to the houses. In its haphazard flight it skid over a low shrub, rolled up into the air then slammed into the arm of a black-clad figure that stood alone against a nearby wall.

The figure shifted as it was struck by the little paper plane. The nose of the plane crumpled against him before it fell in a heap on the ground. With a flourish of black fabric the figure stooped down and picked the little plane up with a black-gloved hand and, upon standing, locked eyes with Heero.

The eyes were a bright, almost glowing blue, half hidden beneath two yellow-blond angular eyebrows. Upon meeting Heero's gaze the eyes narrowed into a formidable glare. Heero tensed and returned the glare with a sharp, icy stare of his own. This person was the first intimidating figure he had encountered in this strange new world. The corner of the blond's mouth perked and his eyes twinkled with an unreadable emotion. Heero watched as the other young man tucked the little airplane into a hidden spot above his belt. Then he turned and walked away towards the housing district, his black sash fluttering in the wind as he went.

Heero continued to focus his glare at the back of the retreating outrageous blond head, but was soon interrupted by a hand grabbing his shoulder. He spun around and lifted his hands up reflexively to attack his attacker when he came practically nose to nose with Sora. The other boy's mouth was curved up in such a massive grin it threatened to overtake his entire face.

"Hey! Why so jumpy? You look like you've seen a ghost or something!" Sora said, obviously amused. Heero's glare returned to his face, but this time aimed at the chuckling boy before him.

"Who was that?" Heero inquired. He was curious to know the identity of anyone who could out-intimidate himself.

"Who was… who?" Sora's face scrunched up in confusion, a thin eyebrow shooting up to his hairline.

Heero frowned and shook his head. "Never mind."

Sora seemed more than willing to let that question go. He pointed to one of the merchant stalls nearby. "You ready to do a little shopping?"

Heero frowned. Was he serious?

"I think you need a new outfit. Besides, you need a weapon other than that gun. It isn't going to do you any good here, I am afraid." Sora replied plainly as he led the way to the little shop's counter. Heero's frown darkened.

"Are you suggesting that a gun isn't as good as a big key?" Heero asked. Sora shrugged and gave him a faux, innocent grin.

"I didn't say THAT. You just don't know what we are up against…" Sora said calmly. "A gun is good, but what if we get attacked by like… twenty shadow heartless? A gun wouldn't even take them out; you would have to keep reloading." Sora explained. Heero wasn't convinced.

"I don't understand. I still don't understand what a heartless is." Heero said coldly. Sora shifted his weight uncomfortably and began fiddling with a zipper on his torso.

"I told you… it is really hard to explain."

"Try." Heero prompted. Sora frowned.

"Okay, so you have heard about good people and bad people, right? Good people have more light in their hearts…" Sora paused, as if trying to formulate the right words to choose. "And bad people have more darkness in their hearts. Well, the HEARTLESS are the dark side. Like if I took your dark side of your heart and made it have arms and legs, it would be one of those. Get it?"

Heero stared at him with uplifted eyebrows. "So what you are telling me is… the heartless don't breathe or eat… they aren't alive?"

Sora shook his head. "Technically, no."

"Why do they attack people then?" Heero asked, not quite grasping this idea.

"Well… it is just that epic struggle between dark and light I guess." Sora said softly. "They want to infect the light. Look-" Sora sighed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I don't even get it, really. The best I can do for you is when we get to the castle show you some of Ansem's research. I have his report. I think, if you read that, you will be more comfortable with all the stuff you will see while we search for the Objects of Power."

Heero's frown eased and he nodded. "I would like that." Finally! Something scientific! He was growing annoyed with the other boy's "light versus dark" mumbo jumbo and was satisfied with the offer to read what research he could. It would also kill some time.

"Good." Sora's mood instantly lightened. "Now, let's get you some new clothes and a REAL weapon!"

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

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Chapter Nine: Heero's Transformation

Heero gaped at his reflection in the mirror with an unbelieving stare. The ridiculous expression on his face matched the outrageous outfit he was now wearing. He was dressed head to toe in black, white and green. His new clothes were oddly similar to Sora's, consisting of a tight black tank top and long, baggy pants. The tank top had two large silver zippers beneath this arms that trailed down his sides and was lined with white and green trimmings. He turned around hesitantly and saw two white, swirling wings embroidered on the black fabric just over his shoulder blades. His white pants were long, baggy and much looser than anything he had ever owned in his life. They, too, were adorned with random chunky zippers and black and green straps. His feet were covered in round, squishy sneakers that appeared to be too large but were actually surprisingly comfortable and snug on his feet.

Hesitantly he plucked at the thin, soft fabric of the pants before glancing skeptically in the mirror's reflection at Sora who was standing behind him, grinning.

"I don't know about this…" Heero mumbled quietly as he studied the unusual attire in the mirror. "Isn't this a little excessive?"

Sora blinked and shook his head. "What do you mean?"

Heero shrugged and toyed with one of the zippers on the side of his new tank top. "It just doesn't seem practical… and it is a little flashy-"

Sora burst into loud laughter before giving Heero a good natured pat on the shoulder. "Well, it does seem a little more edgy than what you had before, but trust me a lot of this stuff is important…" Sora replied plainly.

One of the little ducks was peering expectantly over the counter at Heero with a greedy gleam in his eye at the prospect of making a major dent in Sora's coin purse. Heero gave the little duck a sideways glance before tugging at the baggy pants in disgust.

"It seems like I will trip on these…" Heero replied as he looked down at his now massive feet. Sora grinned and pointed at the pants.

"They feel like that at first, but trust me you haven't fought in them yet. This fabric is super light, not to mention it has magic woven within it." Sora said casually. Heero flinched at the mention of magic. "… the great thing about these clothes is you can enhance yourself through them by accessorizing."

Heero stared wide-eyed at the other boy. _Did he really just say that…?_ "Accessorizing?" He blurted in disbelief. Sora nodded, lifted his arm and motioned to a gaudy metal bracelet on his wrist.

"Yeah! Like this bracelet increases my ability to use fire attacks." Sora shook his arm in emphasis. The silver bangle shifted on his thin wrist and caught the light, glinting brightly. "And this makes my clothes resistant to other fire attacks." The boy extended a hand out to show Heero a thick, silver ring on his middle finger. "We will get you some stuff so you can have these kinds of advantages as well-"

"Wait… so you are saying by wearing jewelry I can be invincible?" Heero couldn't grasp this concept. It was by far the strangest thing he had encountered thus far. Stranger than the ship made of gummi, and the talking teddy bear put together. This comment made Sora's smile fade, and the other boy's expression was soon replaced by a defensive frown.

"Well, no. Not exactly invincible. You see, the items take YOUR energy to perform these acts. Some can enhance things about yourself, like speed or agility but to do so it takes some of your body's energy and kinda channels it…" Sora shifted uncomfortably. Heero saw the other boy's cheeks flush before darkening into a blush. "I know it sounds outrageous… but, well… it is necessary."

Heero frowned and looked down at his hands, trying to imagine his fingers lined with gold and silver rings. Somehow he just couldn't fathom such a thing. "Fine," was all he could say. He could tell that he had squashed Sora's excitement about the whole thing and felt guilty for it. He didn't mean to offend or embarrass the other boy, but it was too late now to take back anything he had said.

"So, is it okay?" Sora asked hesitantly from behind him. Heero nodded mutely before turning away from his eccentric reflection. He watched as the other boy paid the now happily grinning duck for the items. Once the transaction was complete they stepped towards the center of the merchant's square again. Sora stopped near the center and began digging around in one of the pouches that hung low on the side of his puffy shorts. After rummaging for a minute or so he pulled forth a small, plain gauntlet and a small, thin gold ring with a strange emblem on the top. He handed them to Heero carefully.

"This bracelet will increase your defense from physical attack…" Sora said quietly, as if embarrassed to speak of it. "And the ring is going to enhance your ability to use magic."

Heero took the items. He studied the ring closely before sliding it on his left index finger. The cool metal wrapped around the long digit and fit comfortably. Then he tugged the bracelet on his left wrist. Almost immediately he felt a tingling sensation where the metal came in contact with his skin. He raised an eyebrow at it.

Sora seemed to be able to read Heero's expression. "See, it draws from your life energy. The stronger you are, the more of these you can use. You don't ever want to wear too many because they take away from other parts of you. For instance, if you wear too many magic enhancing, it may weaken you physically. It works the other way around, too."

Heero's eyes widened at this knowledge. _So this is real…_ He touched the bracelet hesitantly. _It defies all logic. It makes no sense… and yet, it works._

"So, new clothes- check. Weapon? You need a good weapon." Heero frowned and immediately placed a hand on one of the gaping pockets of his new pants and protectively felt for the outline of his concealed gun. The idea of being separated from his gun was not a welcomed one.

"I still would prefer to keep my gun…" Heero protested. Sora had all ready turned away and was sauntering casually towards the opposite side of the merchant's square to another sale's counter where a second little duck sat.

"What can I get you?" Quacked the little duck eagerly. Sora placed a finger on his lower lip and narrowed his bright blue eyes in deep consideration.

"I'm not sure. What do you have?" Sora asked. Heero inched closer and looked over Sora's shoulder at the empty countertop. The little duck squealed happily as it ran into the shadows behind the counter. Loud banging and scraping noises followed for the length of a minute before the small duck returned with a large load of assorted, very colorful weapons. He tossed them onto the countertop for inspection. Sora immediately picked up something that resembled a battle axe. Heero narrowed his eyes in protest.

"Its pink…" Heero grumbled angrily. Sora smiled sheepishly as he swung the large, neon pink battle axe in the air.

"Don't look at the color, it can be changed-" Sora said quickly. "Just think about all the Heartless you could pound with one of these!" Heero wondered why the other boy didn't just get the strange battle axe for himself, since he seemed so enamored with it. Heero shook his head vigorously.

"No."

Sora frowned before reluctantly dropping the axe on the table. He scanned the miscellaneous items closely before lifting another from the pile. It was a gun… or at least, Heero thought it was. It looked more like a supersoaker than an actual, formidable gun. It was made of various neon colors with a long, twisted barrel and an oval chamber on the underside which Heero assumed was to store ammunition of some sort.

He didn't even want to know what it was. He shook his head and grumbled incoherently about how the weapon was a joke, winning him a nasty glare from the young sales clerk behind the counter.

"Honestly… I just want my gun." Heero said plainly, agitation growing in his voice. He was growing weary of all of the changes he had been forced to go through during this wacky adventure. First he had to change his perception of normalcy and logic, then he had to change his clothes and now the other boy was suggesting that he change his choice of weapon- something he was not comfortable doing at all. Sora sighed in defeat. The little duck snatched up his items before sulking back into the shadows.

"I would like to let you keep it…" Sora said softly, "it is just that your gun won't do anything against the Heartless. You need a weapon that can be upgraded in the same way your clothes can." Sora put his hand out in front of himself as he had in the bailey. A flash of light burst in his palm and when it faded the long, heavy-looking Keyblade appeared in his hand.

"For instance… my Keyblade can be enhanced for different kinds of battle depending on what chain I attach to it." The boy grasped a dangling keychain that hung from the handle. The keychain was made of three circles, two small ones atop a slightly larger one. "Your weapon now can't accommodate this…" Then Sora reached into one of his pouches and pulled forth another keychain. It was a long silver chain with a crescent moon on the end of it. He pulled the current keychain off and replaced it with the new one. Just as he attached the new chain a shimmer began to travel up the handle of the Keyblade. As the shimmer moved across the surface it began to transform in appearance. The handle turned into two wings that met at the sides of a star, and the blade became blue and silver, speckled with large yellow stars. The end of the newly transformed Keyblade held an even larger, shining crescent moon with a five pointed star at its center. Heero stared at the new, gaudy appearance of the Keyblade.

"This charm increases my magic by a little, and my strength by a good fraction." Sora said. He sighed and began turning the Keyblade in his hand. "It also lets me do more attacks in the air." He looked up from his weapon to Heero. "This charm was given to me by Master Yen Sid, the sorcerer who is going to help you get home."

Heero blinked at the mention of Master Yen Sid. The name stirred up his feelings and fueled his hope to return to Earth.

"You see, it is important that you have a weapon that can be enhanced, like this one, because every world has different monsters we must face… and so you will have to change to accommodate those differences in battle."

Heero nodded, finally understanding what the other boy was saying. "But I just don't think those weapons are suited for me," he said plainly. Sora sighed and nodded in agreement.

"You are right, but we have to get you **something**…" Suddenly Sora's eyes lit up and a large grin passed across his boyish face. "Wait… why didn't I think of this before!!" The boy practically leapt with delight. "Come on!" Then he spun on his heels and ran across the square. Stunned, Heero followed him. They came to a small clear area in the square and as they approached something began to glow from the ground. Then, when Sora came to a stop, a hologram projected up from the ground. Within the blue, glowing hologram was a floating creature with a large round nose in the center of its face. It looked like it had a wire poking from its head and, at the end of the wire, bobbed a puffy ball.

"What is this?" Heero asked as he stared at the floating creature in the hologram. He noticed that it had small, twitching bat wings, though they didn't seem to help it in flying.

"This is a Moogle. It will help us synthesize your weapon." Sora said with a bright smile. He held a hand out at Heero expectantly. "Give me your gun."

Heero scowled, jabbed his hand in his pocket and squeezed the handle of the gun. "What for…" he grumbled, reluctant to part with the only thing he had left from his own world. Sora smiled at him, his expression seething with reassurance and sincerity.

"Trust me… you promised you would, remember?"

Heero's eyebrow involuntarily twitched. _Damn that stupid promise…_ his scowl deepened and, reluctantly, he slid the gun out of his pocket and handed it to Sora. The other boy took it with two fingers and held it away from himself as if the gun were a rattle snake. He turned to the hologram and spoke loudly to it.

"Transform this gun, please, to suit its owner." Then he took his other hand, grabbed Heero's wrist and yanked him closer to the hologram. He placed the gun into the hologram and immediately it vanished. Heero tried to yank his arm away from Sora but before he could Sora had shoved Heero's hand into the hologram. A strong, static sensation overtook his hand. He tried to pull his hand away from the hologram but some unseen force held him firmly in place within the now pulsating blue light.

"What did you do?!" He barked angrily at Sora. The other boy had taken a few steps back and was watching Heero closely.

"Relax, Heero. It will be over in a few seconds." Sora said softly. Then he crossed his arms over his chest and waited. The "few seconds" seemed to last for an eternity. The tingle of electricity intensified and soon was making Heero's entire arm ache and throb with pain. Just as Heero was about to cry out in frustration the light faded to darkness and the static's hold on his hand released. He yanked his arm from the hologram.

As he did he felt something appear in his hand. He looked down at his freed arm and saw his gun grasped tightly in his fingers. However, it didn't look as it had before. Now, the handle was curved to fit his hand almost perfectly. The slide action had been replaced by the rounded, multi-chamber of a revolver. He looked in awe at the barrel. Two inches down the barrel the metal flared outward, rippled, and then tapered to a point. Engravings graced its surface, those of feathers and abstract tribal circles, over its glistening silver surface and the black and white handle. His first, angry reaction at his gun was soon replaced with sheer wonder at the peculiar creation he held in his hand.

"What is this?" Heero asked slowly as his eyes inspected every curve and intricate detail of his newly fashioned gun. Sora approached him cautiously before looking down at Heero's hand.

"It looks like a Gunblade…" Sora said plainly. "Kinda like Leon's… but yours is smaller. I guess like a gun-dagger or something." Heero let this sink in. He lifted the gun up to the pale orange evening sky and looked down the barrel. It was perfectly straight and the tip of the blade curved up at the very tip to serve as a rather accurate target sight. The gun, despite its added metal, seemed lighter than it had before. Evenly distributed weight in the handle made it easy to grasp. Instead of the sensation of just holding a gun, it felt like an extension of his arm. After thoroughly inspecting it he turned to look at Sora.

"What do I use for ammo?" He asked, honestly curious now about his new weapon. Sora smiled at the question and shrugged his shoulders.

"It doesn't need any. Remember, magic? Well, you can use magic through your gun." The boy walked up to the hologram and immediately it shone bright blue again at his presence. A screen appeared within the hologram and began scrolling characters Heero had never seen before.

"It says you can use up to five different kinds of magic…" Sora said softly. Heero looked down at the revolver. It had five bullet chambers. "And that you can assign the magic to the bullets you want to use. As long as you have the strength for magic, you will have full ammunition."

Heero sighed and switched the gun from his right hand to his left. It fit comfortably in his left hand, too.

"So, do you like it?" Sora finally asked. Heero looked up at the other boy. Sora was waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Yes…" Heero finally stated, "I do. Thank you again, Sora."

This made Sora's face explode into a bright, happy smile. "No problem, Heero. Now you are a real member of our team!" The boy chirped excitedly. Heero felt the other boy's positive energy rubbing off on him. He fought back the reflexive smile that Sora's happiness often instilled within him and instead gave the boy a curt nod.

Sora smirked at Heero's attempt to stay calm and nonchalant. He looked up at the sky, which was now turning a dark ruddy orange as the light began to retreat away from it. "We better turn in for the night." Sora said plainly. "Come on, let's tent."

Heero blinked and held his new gun close to his side. "Tent?"

* * *

/ Who the heck ever used TENT anyway? lol/


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

"Rise and shine, sleepy head!"

Heero's eyes shot open at the abrasive sound of Donald's voice in his ear. His arms reflexively twitched and, in a split second's thought, he fought back the urge to snatch the duck by its long, thin neck.

He sat up and fixed a steady glare on the now grinning duck. "Finally you are awake!" Donald said happily. Heero wondered if the creature was happy to annoy him. "Come on, we have to meet Sora at the castle." Then, with a ruffle of white feathers the duck turned and exited from the tent. Once alone, Heero rubbed his head and closed his eyes once more. His body felt exceptionally refreshed and he had, surprisingly, had a restful sleep. He let his eyes crack open once more and looked around the empty tent.

The night before Sora had retrieved this tent from his pocket. It was encapsulated within a round, glowing orb. He had watched as the other boy threw the orb against the ground. A plume of thick, yellow smoke burst forth from the broken orb and, when the smoke cleared, the four-person tent had been erected where broken glass should have been.

He glanced over to the spot where Sora had curled up to sleep. Sora was gone, but his rumpled, used sleeping bag remained. Heero looked down at his own sleeping bag, kicked it off of his legs then pulled himself to a crouch within the small tent. Donald had no problem walking inside, but Heero was far too tall to stand upright. After settling himself into a comfortable stance he began pushing around the empty sleeping bags, looking for his personal items. He found his new large, round shoes and the Gunblade in a pile by the foot of his sleeping bag. He grabbed the Gunblade's handle and lifted it from the ground. The blade now had a molded holster around it. He studied the thick, black leather straps that held the holster closely. _Where did this come from?_ The question soon faded from his thoughts. There was no time or true reason to question such things. With an absent shrug he gathered his belongings and then shuffled towards the opening flap of the tent. He stumbled gracelessly out. Once the tent had been evacuated by all of its tenants it began to shrink. It became smaller and smaller until it vanished completely.

Heero watched the tent disappear with uplifted eyebrows before turning to face Donald, who was standing a few feet away glowering at him, obviously impatient.

"Well, are you going to dilly-dally all day or can we get to some business!?" The cranky duck exclaimed before turning to waddle away. Heero squinted against the bright morning light, threw his shoes on the ground, stuffed his feet into them, and then began jogging to catch up with Donald.

The morning air was cool and crisp. It must have been early because a thin layer of moisture still hung in the air. Heero studied his surroundings closely. They had made camp in the housing district. The night before Sora had called it "the Borough". Despite all of the small, low roofed homes within the Borough Heero had yet to see any life other than Sora's team of creatures. There seemed to be more life in the Marketplace than in the Borough.

Heero's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar low, pulsing sound. He paused and turned around to face the direction from which the noise had come. On the ground a few yards away was an indistinct shape of blue light. However, this time a large, clear ball sat atop its pulsing surface. The light shifted against the cobblestone to the right, then to the left as if searching for something.

"Donald. Wait." Heero said loudly, trying to alert the duck. Donald was mumbling to himself, and didn't seem to have heard him.

The object on the ground was making a slow, lazy circle. Heero squeezed his Gunblade's handle tightly.

"Donald…" Heero called. The duck continued to waddle away.

"You stupid duck, come here!" He finally yelled over his shoulder. The slapping sound of the duck's webbed feet against the stone ceased.

"WHAT!" Donald practically screamed. Just as he did the glowing object on the ground shifted towards them and an eight foot pillar of light exploded up into the air. The cylindrical hologram shimmered for a few seconds before dropping back to the ground.

"What is that?" Heero asked quietly. He had unsheathed his Gunblade and held the tip pointed at the mysterious thing on the ground. Donald's feet slapped loud against the ground as he stomped towards him.

"That's just a security system." Donald grumbled. "Come on, we gotta go! And put that silly gun thing down! It isn't gonna hurt you, it only attacks the Heartless and Nobodies."

Heero frowned and reluctantly put the Gunblade back in its holster. _Nobodies? I am not even going to ask…_ Donald huffed, annoyed, and resumed his angry waddle towards the stairs that led to the bailey where Heero had found Sora the day before. Heero followed, silent. He studied everything as they passed. At the top of the stairs was a large, rusty crane. They turned right and walked along a high stone wall towards the bailey. Heero gazed over the tops of the small houses in the Borough. He saw a flash of faint blue-white light from an alleyway in the distance.

_Security system…_ He wondered about what Donald had said for a moment. _So, they have computers in this world, that is to say, if that hologram thing was created by a computer and not magic._ He frowned and looked down at his Gunblade as he walked. _But… anything can happen here, it seems. Perhaps they can incorporate magic in technology, too? Just like this gun…_ Once again whenever he tried to rationalize and find logic in things it just ended up making his head ache. He shook away the thoughts that surfaced in his mind and tried to focus on his new weapon. The holster's straps looked to be arm holes. As he followed Donald into the bailey he managed to slide his arms into the loops. The holster's thick yet pliable leather rested perfectly against his back and shoulders. The Gunblade was now nestled securely under his left arm.

The sounds of their footsteps echoed against the low ceiling of the inner Bailey's tunnel. Donald led him to the end of the tunnel and to the right. The Bailey's ceiling vanished to reveal a powder blue sky above. They descended two sets of twisting stairs. After the second set Heero saw that one of the Bailey walls had been badly damaged. Stone lie carelessly in large piles and what looked to be the top of a tower had fallen to its side on top of the wreckage. Loose pebbles lined the ground as they passed and Donald kicked at them. Across from the wreckage was a large, corroded gate. Here Donald stopped and turned around to aim an icy glare at Heero.

"Okay. Now, you listen to me… this part is very dangerous so you got to stay close to me, and don't try anything funny!" The duck instructed with gusto. With a burst of light the duck's staff appeared in wing. "Got it? Just stay behind me!"

Then he pushed the gate open. The gate shimmered as he touched it, but then the glow faded and it became dull and ordinary once more. Donald led him through it, and then slammed it closed behind them. The gate glowed once more, and this time retained its copper shimmer.

_Does that glow make it secure?_ Heero wondered, and then scolded himself for having such a random thought. _Now I am starting to lose my mind and think everything is magic… this place is ruining my good sense._ He thought this with a wry smile. He followed closely behind the duck. Donald's head was swaying back and forth as he surveyed the area and his arm was uplifted with his staff held at the ready. Heero narrowed his eyes at the staff. _What is he going to do with that, bludgeon something to death?_ This thought made him smile more.

They walked slowly through a narrow, shallow canyon. It was littered with construction equipment. Just when Heero thought there was no real threat beyond the enchanted gate something moved in one of the darkened corners of the canyon. A figure seemed to have appeared from the stone wall and was approaching them. It floated just a few inches from the ground and was shifting and writhing strangely. It seemed to be person wrapped from head to toe in white and pink cloth. He couldn't see its face. Instinctively Heero grabbed his Gunblade from the holster and held it at ready… or, at least, how he thought was ready. He wasn't sure how to use this weapon, but he knew he could kill something with it if he had to.

Donald quacked loudly at the sight of the approaching creature, lifted his staff and yelled something Heero couldn't quite distinguish. Wind began to swirl up around them. Heero jumped, startled, and looked around him. A ball of wind had engulfed him and was now rustling his hair and clothes. Donald had an orb of air blowing around his body as well.

"What the… hell…." Heero then watched as Donald swung his staff and hollered a different incoherent phrase. A ball of fire burst from the tip of the duck's staff, flew through the air, then planted square in the oncoming enemy's chest. The creature shuddered, paused, and then approached once more. As it did it spun and twisted with inhuman flexibility and grace. Heero thought it looked as if it were dancing.

"THUNDER!" Donald wailed as he shook his staff over his head. Just as he spoke lightning pulsed over the creature's head before shooting down to strike at it. It fell backwards, twitched, and then vanished in a wisp of gray smoke.

"Come on!" Donald yelled over his shoulder and began to run down the twisting path. Heero followed. The swirl of wind remained around him, but did not hinder his progress. He was not sure what it was and wouldn't question it just yet. It did him no harm, so he wasn't going to worry himself over it. As they ran Heero glanced over his shoulder. More creatures began to slink out of the shadows and walls to pursue them.

_What are those things?_ His mind raced as he trailed behind Donald. _They look like that thing I killed on the ship._ Just then the wind that had been swirling around him began to fade. Donald's orb of wind faded too, and within moments both had vanished.

"Just a little further!" Donald yelled as he ran. Heero nodded and easily kept up with the stout little duck. They came to the top of a hill and as they did a round, metallic platform came into view. Heero spotted Sora, Goofy and two other people standing within the circle. _Why aren't they coming to help us? _Heero thought as he ran. The creatures were nearing, twisting and writhing silently at their heels.

The moment Heero's feet hit the metal and stone platform he spun around to face the monsters. _If they won't help, I will take care of them myself!_ He decided with a silent snarl. However, when he turned around with Gunblade in hand the monsters were gone. The path was empty.

"Hey guys!" Sora's voice called happily from behind him. "I was wondering what was taking you so long!" The cheerful boy sauntered up casually to them before offering Heero a pleasant smile. Sora's nonchalance agitated him.

"Where are they?" Heero asked, breathing heavily from the frantic uphill retreat. Sora's expression was still bright and unhindered.

"Oh, they can't come onto the Postern." Sora said plainly. He made a small gesture with his hand. "It is guarded by a spell and so is a safe spot." Then Sora's smile faded. Heero realized that his own face bore an angry frown. "Are you okay, Heero?"

Heero felt his anger flare into a rolling boil. "Okay? I was just chased up this hill by a bunch of monsters and you are wondering if I am okay?" He hissed angrily, his Gunblade still in hand. Sora put his hands up in protest.

"Wait… hold on, you are fine. You were in no danger, Donald was with you-"

Heero just glowered angrily at Sora, who seemed to be stumbling over himself to find just the right thing to say to reassure him.

"Trust me, you are fine. This place is safe." Sora attempted to change the subject. He pointed up at the looming towers and crooked, half-build walls of the castle in front of which they stood. Heero saw one of the two new figures approaching. His eyes immediately shot from glaring a hole in Sora's forehead to glaring at the approaching stranger.

"Is there a problem here?"

"Nah, Leon. He is just a little shook up. Heero, this is Leon." Sora said casually as he gestured at the newcomer. Leon stared at Heero for a long moment through long, brown bangs. Heero studied this Leon person carefully. He was tall, much taller than Sora and Heero, with well-defined muscles barely visible beneath a short, fur-lined coat. A long, dark scar trailed down the bridge of his nose and made his otherwise handsome face seem dark and foreboding. Heero also saw that he was holding a Gunblade, much like his own, but significantly larger.

Heero nodded at him. Leon returned the nod. They stood across from each other in silence, holding their Gunblades up as if in preparation to duel. Neither one of them made a move to speak in greeting, or to attack.

Heero saw Sora shift uncomfortably.

"Um… so, now that you two are introduced-"

Before Sora could continue a hand grasped his shoulder to silence him. Heero tore his eyes from Leon to see what caused Sora to go suddenly silent and came face to face with a woman.

It suddenly occurred to him that this woman was the first he had encountered since arriving in the town. She had kind, quiet green eyes flanked by two curtains of reddish brown bangs.

"I am Aerith." She said in a flat, expressionless tone. Heero quirked a brow at her lack of emotion and grasped her hand gently. He was surprised to feel that her handshake was firm and strong, defying her frail gentle appearance.

"Heero." He replied in response to her greeting. She nodded, smiled faintly, and then retreated back a few steps to stand behind Leon.

"So, I guess Sora hasn't explained much to you." Leon said slowly. He lifted his massive Gunblade up over a shoulder and placed it in some sort of holding mechanism against his back. "You are probably confused about all of this."

_Finally, someone who understands!_ Heero silently rejoiced. He nodded in confirmation to Leon, who studied Heero's expressionless face with cool, steady blue eyes.

"It is a lot to explain. He said you would want to read Ansem's Reports. I think that will be good to give you an idea of how our worlds were torn apart as well as the origins of the Heartless, but it won't explain everything." Leon crossed his arms firmly over his chest and regarded Heero a little more casually. "A lot you will have to experience to understand, but we will try to make everything make as much sense as we can."

Heero felt his entire body relax as a sweeping sensation of relief overcame him. He nodded to Leon, who raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment.

"Good." Leon said flatly. "Come on, have a seat, there is a lot to say."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11- READY, SET, GO

Pt. 1

Leon led Heero to sit on one of the Postern's low stone walls. Aerith sat beside him. Sora stood nearby, fidgeting with a clear blue marble he had hastily retrieved from a pocket. Donald and Goofy stood near Sora, waiting expectantly for Leon to speak.

"Okay… " Leon began, his eyes searching the sky above as if hoping something would appear and direct him on how he should begin. "Our universe is made of light and dark, and… being part of it, so too are we." Heero saw Aerith nod her head gently in approval of Leon's opening statement.

"Kingdom Hearts is the source of all Light." Leon stated in a strong, calm voice. "Not too long ago a group of those with dark hearts began to destroy worlds, attempting to kidnap Seven Princesses…" He turned around, took a few steps away from them, and then resumed his tale. "These princesses had pure hearts. Once the seven were obtained the villains of darkness could unlock the power of Kingdom Hearts. That is how our world became destroyed, among others. As they traveled from world to world they tore everything apart, opening 'keyholes' in each world. Once open, the world would be susceptible to Darkness. To seal the keyholes, one of pure heart must wield the Keyblade, go to the damaged worlds and lock the keyholes before the Darkness consumes them."

Leon turned around and looked to Sora. "That is where Sora comes in."

Sora nearly dropped his marble. He looked up at Leon, then at Aerith and Heero and smiled nervously. "Heh, yeah."

"The Keyblade chose Sora because he has a strong, pure heart. He is naturally able to resist Darkness. So, Sora's destiny became to go to the worlds and seal them with the Keyblade. He also battles the Heartless, and in doing so, frees them. Once struck by the Keyblade, the hearts consumed by the Heartless are released and will return to join Kingdom Hearts."

"Donald and Goofy work for King Mickey, and are helping Sora in his task. Sora has all ready freed many hearts and has saved a great many worlds." Leon finished, a small smile gracing his lips. "It is a great honor that Sora has decided to help you."

Heero frowned and looked from Leon to Sora. Sora was staring down at his shoes, an unreadable expression warping his usual cheerful features. He tried to let Leon's words sink in. The concepts were like that of a fairytale. Dark versus Light, a hero freeing princesses, worlds being destroyed by villains… but Sora? He just looked like an ordinary, goofy teenage boy.

Then Heero smiled. _Who am I to judge?_ He was almost angry at himself for doubting Sora in the first place. After all, their situations were similar. They both were young and caught in a fight for the greater good. They both fought to free others from harm, although Sora's situation was on a grander, more fantastic scale.

Heero watched as Leon lifted a gloved hand to his chin and rubbed it absently, his eyes shifting back and forth as he thought.

"Sora, maybe you should let Jiminy tell the rest. I am not so sure about the details of the Castle Oblivion." Leon said. Sora blinked, placed the ball in a pouch on his thigh and nodded.

"Right… um, Jiminy!"

Heero stared at Sora for a moment before seeing something move near the other boy's head. He squinted to get a better look and noticed a bug wearing a top hat had appeared on Sora's shoulder.

"Why, yes? How may I be of service?" The little bug asked in a cordial voice. Sora's usual smile returned and he gestured over at Heero.

"Can you tell Heero about Castle Oblivion. We just need a little summary…"

The bug, which Heero saw now to be a cricket, jumped from Sora's shoulder, bounded across the ground in three giant leaps and landed on the stone wall beside Heero.

"Of course. Now, let me see…" A leather bound book magically appeared in the cricket's hands. He flipped a few pages with gusto and then thumbed back one or two before he settled his index finger on a particular spot on the left hand side. "Here it is… Castle Oblivion! Our heroes' quest continued but this time to bring Riku and King Mickey back from behind the Door to Darkness. They came to Castle Oblivion, the headquarters of the Organization. Through the use of a young girl named Naminé, they drew Sora into their trap. As Sora continued through the castle his memories began to fade away. One by one Sora began to forget the great deeds he had accomplished. During that time Riku and King Mickey were fighting their way from the castle's basement. Marluxia, a renegade of the Organization, fought against them but was soon defeated. Once Marluxia was gone, Naminé was released from her captivity. She promised to restore Sora, Donald and Goofy's memories for them. However, the process would take a year, so she sent them into a deep sleep to begin recovery." Satisfied with his storytelling, the cricket closed the book, nodded to Heero, then bounced back to Sora and vanished into one of his pockets.

Everyone grew quiet and turned to watch Heero's reaction to the information he had just received. Heero sat in silence, staring down at the stone beneath his large sneakers. After a moment or two he looked up and sighed. "I understand." He said plainly, straightening his posture confidently. "So, the Organization is our enemy?" He asked, looking to Sora.

Sora nodded and frowned. "I think they are behind a lot of the reproduction of Heartless. There are two kinds… natural and artificial. Natural Heartless comes from the dark side of a heart. Artificial is made. You can tell the difference because the processed ones have a strange heart symbol on them." The boy approached Heero with a new found confidence. "I don't know who the Organization is, or what they want with Heartless. All I know if all of a sudden a new breed of monsters has been showing up, and it just so happens they start popping up in places where I run into one of the Organization members." Sora balled his hands into tight fists and clenched his jaw as he spoke. "The new monsters are stronger than the Heartless. They are smarter, too. I just learned that they are called 'Nobodies' and are the empty shells of those who have lost their hearts to the Heartless. I think they are gathering Heartless and Nobodies together and are going to try and destroy Kingdom Hearts. The amount of Nobodies and Heartless increases by the thousands every day and I just can't keep up with it. So, I gotta find Kingdom Hearts before they do."

Heero's eyebrows curled up low on his forehead. This was more serious than he thought. Maybe he just didn't fully understand the urgency of Sora's situation at first because of the strange company he traveled with. How did one take a zoo of talking animals seriously? Suddenly the guilt of being a burden to Sora returned. However, there was no shaking the other boy's desire to help. He knew that Sora would never go back on his word, he didn't seem the type.

_I must be strong. I must be of assistance to him. It will be the only way I can repay him for his help._ Heero reasoned. _I will help him. I will kill as many Heartless as I can._

He stood up from his spot on the low wall and unholstered his Gunblade. "It is about time I learn how to use this thing, then." Heero said flatly. He saw Leon's face brighten with restrained delight. "Can anyone train me on this?"

Leon nodded. "Of course. Sora, give me an hour or two with your friend. That is all I think we will need." The tall man's eyes shimmered with excitement. With an easy swing of his arm Leon pulled forth his massive Gunblade from his back. "I hope you can keep up with my lesson. I am a tough teacher," he said smoothly as he lifted his blade and pointed it at Heero. Heero raised his smaller, yet formidable weapon and locked blades with Leon.

"Your ability to teach me has yet to be determined." Heero said in a coy, wicked voice. This brought a bright, unrestrained smile to Leon's usual cold expression.

"Wonderful." Leon mumbled and then with great speed lunged forward to attack.

* * *

Pt. 2

Heero glared across the round platform of the Postern at his opponent. A bead of sweat trickled down from his scalp, trailed across his left cheek then took to the air before plopping to the ground. His shoulders rose and fell slowly as he took long, laborious breaths in attempt to regain his composure. His muscles ached and his heart was beating so hard the rushing of blood roared in his ears. He was exhausted. The Gunblade, which had felt so light in comparison to his old gun, now seemed to have grown heavier in his weary hands.

Leon stood in an aggressive stance about twenty feet away. He seemed to be no better off than Heero was. The taller man was holding his significantly larger Gunblade in both hands. The tip of the Gunblade hovered just over the ground, twitching back and forth as Leon strained to hold it up.

Heero's eyes scanned his opponent. He looked for any notable sign of weakness. He could see that Leon was now supporting the Gunblade's weight with the left hand. After battling his teacher for a little over an hour, Heero knew that Leon was right-hand dominant by having recognized that Leon's attacks had been primarily executed by swinging the right side of his body. So that meant that his right would be his weakest side if he was now compensating by holding his weapon with his left as the primary hand.

The corner of Heero's mouth secretly twitched as he locked eyes with Leon. His teacher returned his look with an expression of deep concentration. Then, before Heero could initiate his attack, Leon had beaten him to it. The swordsman bolted forward. His boots thudding loudly on the ground in a quick tempo as he approached. Heero took a step back and readied his smaller Gunblade by lifting the hilt up to eye level with the point aimed in the direction of his attacker. He wound his arm back and just when Leon entered Heero's mental circle of attack he lunged forward. The loud scraping of metal upon metal sounded through the air as their blades locked for the hundredth time since they began training. Leon's eyebrows pivoted down and a deep wrinkle appeared in the center of his forehead as he strained to press his blade against Heero's, attempting to overpower him. Heero responded by holding firm against Leon's pressing advance. He dug his sneakers into the ground and kept Leon from pushing him backwards.

"Are you ready to give up?" Leon asked in a breathless voice, his face hovering so close to Heero's that he could feel the panting urgency in his breath.

Heero closed his eyes for a moment but held firm. He had learned a lot in this short time about this weapon, and it was all thanks to Leon's instruction. However, he wasn't one to let anyone off lightly, even in training. This thought brought forth a fleeting memory from depths of his mind of when he had taught Duo basic martial arts moves. Duo a fast learner and was much more flexible than he. Therefore, after some light training, Duo had been able to outmaneuver Heero. He recalled that moment vividly and remembered how proud and accomplished he had felt when his pupil had surpassed him. He decided he would do the same for his teacher.

His eyes snapped open and with a burst of hidden power he shoved Leon backwards, sending him stumbling in the opposite direction. Then he jumped high into the air and brought his Gunblade down with unsurpassed speed. Leon guarded, though Heero quickly detected his hesitation. He knew he had caught him off guard. With a grin Heero rolled across the ground, banged his blade against Leon's a few times before he hooked a leg around his opponent's knee and brought an elbow into his shoulder. This knocked Leon to the ground. It happened in a little less than a few seconds and soon he was knelt over the Gunblade master's pinioned body, his glistening blade pressed roughly against his rival's throat.

Leon relaxed as the blade touched his skin. His hand released his own Gunblade, letting it clatter loudly to rest against the ground. His face was devoid of any emotion and Heero wondered, briefly, if he had made a mistake in defeating him. But soon the thought vanished when Leon's face brightened into a satisfied, and somewhat amused expression.

"Nice. I think this lesson is over." Leon stated calmly. Heero nodded, sheathed his gunblade in the holster, and then helped Leon to his feet. "It was a pleasure teaching you."

"Thank you." Heero said plainly and for the first time since the lesson he looked around the Postern. Sora, Donald and Goofy were sitting side by side on one section of low wall. Each had a wide-eyed, slack jawed expression and were staring mutely him.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Sora hollered after had snapped out of his shocked stupor. He jumped from his spot on the wall and approached Heero with a happy smile. "Leon is a master, but you beat him! Unbelievable!" He proclaimed loudly, "I can't wait to tell Hercules!"

"Hercules?" Heero blinked. He recalled that name being mentioned by Merlin when they first arrived in Hollow Bastion, but only now did he register the name. "The legendary Greek hero?"

Sora's eyes widened. "You know Hercules?" He asked, enthusiasm bringing his voice to a crescendo.

Heero shook his head and shrugged. "No, I've only heard of him."

"Oh." Sora said before looking to Leon. "So, I guess Heero is ready?" Leon looked from Heero to Sora then gave a firm nod in affirmation.

"Great! I guess we better get going. We gotta check on the ship. If it's done then we can get going to our first world." Sora said cheerfully. He turned and began running towards the path that Heero and Donald had taken to get to the Postern. "Come on, guys! Let's go!" Donald and Goofy hopped to their feet and obediently ran after Sora. Heero watched them go, and then turned to look at Leon. They exchanged cool, placid expressions before Heero unsheathed his Gunblade and ran off in pursuit of his three companions.

* * *

/ Poll results, what little votes there were, turned out to be PRIDELANDS. O Wow. This is going to be interesting! I hope to have the beginning of the PRIDELAND posted by the end of the day (Aug 25, 2008) Happy Reading! /


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

By the time Heero had caught up to Sora, Donald and Goofy the path from the castle to town had been cleared of any enemy creatures. At the bottom of the hill he spotted Donald and Goofy smiling at one another. Goofy was strapping his large, circular shield to his back and Donald was whistling happily as he strode through the gate into the inner Bailey. Sora was laughing to himself between gentle pants.

"Heero. You missed the action." Sora said breathlessly as Heero approached. The Japanese boy sighed and narrowed his eyes at him.

"You couldn't leave me just one?" He said in a friendly tone as he approached his teammate. Sora shook his head while spinning the Keyblade expertly in one hand.

"Sorry. Nobodies are tricky and have to be taken out A.S.A.P." The boy explained. Heero frowned and followed the three up the stairs to the outer Bailey.

"So how can you tell the difference between Nobodies and Heartless?" He asked. The Keyblade vanished from Sora's hand as they walked. The boy smiled, pleased at Heero's casual interest in the topic.

"Well, Heartless tend to be dark. Usually they are black or some sort of purple color. The artificial ones, like I said before, have a particular symbol on them. It is a red and black heart with an arrow at the bottom. Once you see it, you'll recognize it." He replied slowly, "Anyway, the Heartless tend to be really dumb. They don't strategize; they just sort of stalk you and attack at random. They tend to be kinda slow, too." As they stepped out of the Bailey Heero squinted against the bright afternoon light. Sora had stretched his arms over his head and was sauntering lazily across the top of the wall towards the stairs. Heero studied him. The boy seemed as relaxed and as any other teenage boy. The way he spoke about these dark, foreboding monsters was like that of an average boy talking about a hockey game or a science project. He marveled at how normal Sora was, despite his current predicament.

"Now, Nobodies- they are a pain in the butt." Sora said with a wide grin. "They are smart, crafty and fast. Not to mention each type of Nobody is completely different thought you can tell the difference between them and Heartless because they tend to be white, silver or gray colored. They will chase you down, and can keep up with you too. I hate Nobodies…" Sora said, making a playful expression of mock disgust. Heero couldn't hold back the smirk that had snuck across his lips. He recalled Duo making a similar face once upon a time. "Let's stop by and say goodbye to Merlin before we go." Sora finally stated as they neared the magician's house. Heero frowned. He wasn't at all pleased with the idea of visiting the wizard again, especially with the knowledge that the old man practically despised him. But, he was part of Sora's crew now, and would go along with anything the other boy wanted.

The thought of not being a leader, for once, made him uncomfortable. He had never taken orders that weren't related to Operation Meteor, and being under the command of a boy his own age was practically unheard of. But, he had no choice, he had… well… _promised_ to trust him.

He rolled his eyes to himself before jamming his hands in the pockets of his oversized pants. The fabric was cool and loose. During his training with Leon he had noted that Sora was right about his new attire. It was suited for battle, despite its size and baggy cut. When he jumped in the air the fabric seemed to hold him suspended in the air for a few seconds. When he landed on his feet his sneakers seemed to absorb the shock of impact. He felt lighter, quicker and more flexible.

He was startled back from his thoughts by a high, somewhat annoying voice from behind him. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Heero spun around and, instinctively, placed a hand on the handle of his Gunblade. However, when he saw where the voice had come from he relaxed. Instead of a Heartless or a talking animal he had come face to face with a girl. A rather pretty girl. He blinked and stared, mutely, at her for a long moment.

"Yuffie!" Sora exclaimed brightly as he approached her. They exchanged a friendly hug. The girl was practically bouncing with excitement.

"Sora! I am so glad I caught you before you left. Leon said you guys were heading out." She explained in a joyful voice. Heero watched as she bounced from one foot to the other. She seemed to be exploding with positive energy. He had never seen anything like it.

"Well, sorta. We were on our way to see how Cid is doing with the ship." Sora explained to her. Then he pointed at Heero. "This is Heero. He is coming with us on this… um, side quest." Sora stated. Yuffie grinned, skipped up to Heero and thrust her hand out at him.

"I'm Yuffie. Nice to meet ya, Heero." She said in a perky tone. He grasped her hand gently but was surprised to feel that despite her thin, frail looking frame she had an iron grip. She squeezed his hand tightly and shook it with enthusiasm.

"Yuffie is our resident ninja." Sora added from behind the girl's shoulder. Yuffie nodded in agreement.

"Yep. The only ninja around these parts!" She chirped before giving Heero a little wink. "So, don't get on my bad side…" At this she threw back her head and cackled playfully. Heero's eyebrows rose high on his forehead. He was rendered speechless.

"Well, I'll let you guys get back to questing." Yuffie said happily. She waved at Donald and Goofy, gave Sora a departing hug, winked at Heero once more then bounded away towards the castle. As she left Heero saw a massive shuriken was strapped on the petite girl's back. Something told him she was definitely not a force to be reckoned with.

He also reminded himself that things weren't what they seemed in this world, and that he should never underestimate anything he should encounter in the future.

No matter how pretty or cute said things shall be.

"I'll meet you guys at the ship." Sora said to Donald and Goofy once they reached Merlin's front door. Then Sora turned to Heero. "Maybe you should go with them… you know how Merlin gets…" Sora said gently. Heero nodded and tried to hide his relief at being let off the hook. He turned and began following Donald and Goofy towards the Marketplace. He heard Sora enter the old man's house behind him.

He had not been entirely excited to see the wizard again and was relieved to have been allowed to continue on with Donald and Goofy. The two creatures trudged on in silence. He enjoyed the relative quiet and as they walked he observed the abandoned houses of the Borough. Then the Marketplace came and went. They walked down a set of steep steps towards the pier where the ship was docked. As they neared Heero could hear the ripping sound of electricity arching. A few flashes of bright white light came from the starboard side of the ship. Unfortunately, they couldn't see that side of the ship from their spot on the pier. As they came closer Donald yelled loudly over the din of construction.

"HEY! CID! IS THE SHIP DONE YET?"

The noise stopped. After a few moments a blond head popped over the top of the ship and looked down at them. It was Cid, though it was difficult to tell, for he had his goggles set firmly over his eyes. However, the man's mouth was clearly visible, along with the giant toothpick he always seemed to have between his lips.

"Ah! There you are! I was wonderin' when you would show." Cid yelled down at them. He pulled himself up to sit on the top of the gummi ship. His white shirt was smudged with dark stains and his gloves were black, as if covered with soot. Heero detected the scent of burnt sugar wafting from the ship's direction. "I'm pretty much done. Just doin' the final touches!" Cid explained. He rubbed his stubble-shadowed chin with his gloved hand, leaving a long smudge of black along his jaw line.

"Hurry, because we have to leave as soon as we can!" Donald wailed loudly, his voice cracking, "we've got some extra work to do…" The duck gave Heero a sideways glance before returning his big blue eyes back to the mechanic. Cid was chewing vigorously at the end of his big toothpick. He seemed agitated.

"Look, duck. I have been up all night bustin' my buns on this project. I am goin' as fast as I can. It will be done when it's done." The blond said in a short tone before throwing his hands up in the air. "What do I look like, a miracle worker?"

Donald's face was turning red. "Well get to work then, we are in a hurry!" The duck wailed, tapping a webbed foot impatiently. Heero looked over at Goofy. The dog was just staring up at Cid with a blank, dumb expression on his face. That was nothing new…

Cid had pushed his goggles up onto his forehead and was now glaring down at Donald with a stern expression. "Look, here, you can't go around telling me what to do!"

Donald lifted his wings up and began swinging them around angrily. "Stop arguing with me and just do it!" The duck exclaimed. Cid's face transformed from annoyed to smug. He smiled down at the irritated duck and rolled the toothpick from one corner of his mouth to the other before letting it settle in the center of his mouth.

"I dunno… I think I need a nap. I am pretty doggone tired." The man said with a sparkle in his eye. He stretched his arms over his head, yawned widely, and then flopped down onto his back atop the ship as if to sleep. It occurred to Heero that Cid found great humor in toying with Donald. Who could blame him, Donald was a loose cannon and easily manipulated.

"Gwwwahahahahahhayahahahhaaaa!" Donald screamed. He was hopping up and down like a kindergartener in a tantrum. "WhyIottahurtyousobadIcan'tbelieveyouaresuchanincompoopgetupandfixthisshiporyou'llbesorry!!"

Cid didn't move and just continued to pretend to nap. Heero held back an amused chuckle and watched the irate duck flail his staff in the air. Goofy was now trying to console and calm Donald, but to no avail.

"What's going on down here?" Sora's voice broke through the Donald's threatening speech. Cid sat up immediately and as Sora approached gave the boy a giant grin.

"Just taking a break." Cid said happily. "That's all…"

Donald had quieted but was still huffing and puffing in fury. Sora stepped up beside Heero and looked down at Donald. "Is something wrong?" The boy asked, honest concern reflecting across his face. Donald scowled and shook his head silently, though continued to glare daggers at the teasing mechanic. Sora shrugged and looked up at Cid with a vivid, yet confused, smile.

"So, how is she?" Sora asked in reference to the ship. Cid hopped up to a stand and placed his strong hands on his hips.

"Perfect as pie." The mechanic replied. "I am just about done. Gotta clean up a spot or two."

Sora nodded in understanding. "Okay. Take your time!" He called up to the mechanic. Heero thought he saw Donald twitch. Sora's smile didn't fade as he walked up to the ship, despite the glare that Donald had now directed at him. He entered through a small doorway into the base of the ship. Donald and Goofy followed, though upon entering they parted ways and entered two separate doorways at the end of a corridor. Sora sighed as he watched them go before turning to look at Heero.

"I've got some good news." He said happily to Heero. "I was talking to Merlin and we talked a little more about the Objects of Power. I was worried we would have a lot of trouble finding them. After all, we don't even know what they are or where they would be in each world. I asked Merlin to get us something we could use to locate the objects and he gave me this." Sora dug in his pocket for a moment before retrieving a compass from his pocket. Heero immediately recognized it to be the same compass the stuffed otter was holding in Merlin's house. Sora opened the lid of the compass and showed Heero the inside. The needle was spinning slowly to the left, then to the right. Heero frowned and looked up at Sora, confused.

"It's broken." Heero stated plainly, eying Sora closely. Sora lifted an eyebrow, looked down at the needle, then smiled.

"Oh. Well, it LOOKS that way, doesn't it?" Sora pushed the needle a little and watched it spin in circles. "This is Jack Sparrow's compass."

Heero just stared at Sora with a dumbfounded look. "Who?"

"Jack Sparrow. He's a pirate." Sora explained as he studied the inside of the compass more closely. Heero sighed. He knew there was something more to this compass but he half-wondered why Sora was being to vague about it. Through experience he had learned that the other boy was terrible at explaining things.

"So we are going to use a pirate's broken compass to find these Objects of Power? Is that what you are trying to say?" Heero said, his voice rising with his building irritation. Sora finally looked up from the spinning needle and Heero thought he saw a blush forming across the boy's face.

"Um, well… you see, it isn't broken." Sora said plainly. "It is enchanted, I guess you can say. It will point to whatever you desire most at the time." Sora held the compass up and smiled. The needle continued to aimlessly spin. "So, if you want to go home you desire the Objects of Power, right?"

Heero nodded, finally putting these facts together in his head. "So, it should point to the objects when I hold it?"

"Exactly." Sora said with a smile. He handed the compass to Heero, who stared down at the needle. It was spinning just as it had with Sora. Then he thought about the Objects of Power. Since he had no idea what they were or what they looked like he merely thought of the concept. The needle began to spin quicker and quicker until it came to an abrupt stop. It was pointing south. Sora peeked over Heero's shoulder and looked at the needle.

"Good. It worked for you."

Heero wondered what that meant but didn't bother asking. The other boy sighed, as if relieved, and then began walking down the main corridor of the ship. Heero followed him. As they walked the crackling sound of electricity resumed from the starboard side of the ship. Cid must have been doing his final touches. They came to the main command deck. Sora walked up to Donald's control panel and pressed a few keys on the large, glowing keyboard. The main screen blinked to life, revealing a map. Stars and planets were digitally drawn across its glowing face. Sora pointed to one of the planets on the map. Heero immediately recognized it to be Hollow Bastion.

"So, if we were to go South…" Sora mumbled to himself, tracing his finger down across the map. His finger stopped on a cluster of planets. "It should take us to one of these…" The corner of the other boy's mouth perked his face into an expression Heero wasn't familiar with. Sora didn't seem to be smiling, for his eyes were dark and emotionless. Heero knew that Sora's smiles generally encompassed his entire face. No… he was thinking about something. Just as Heero opened his mouth to inquire as to what Sora's plans were a loud voice boomed across the control deck. They spun around in unison. Cid was standing in the doorway with a massive mallet in hand, and a welding gun in the other.

"All done!" The mechanic announced with a satisfied grin. "And I must say it is the best work I have ever done."

Sora's characteristic smile returned to his face. "Great! Thanks Cid, I knew I could count on you." The burly blond's cheeks rouged at the boy's kind words.

"Nah, it was nothing. I took a few liberties, though, when I was workin'." The man explained, "I added a few new weapons that should keep those pesky Heartless off of your hull from now on."

Sora sighed and approached the mechanic with a bounce in his step. "Thanks! We definitely needed it!"

They exchanged a few words before Cid vanished through the door again. Sora watched him go before turning to Heero. "I better go get Donald and Goofy. We should start now, it will take a little while to get there."

Heero nodded in understanding. Sora left through the main doorway, leaving Heero alone on the command deck.

Once alone Heero sighed, looked around at the brightly lit controls, then slumped to a sit in one of the chairs. He looked down at the compass that he held tightly in hand.

"I want to go home." He whispered down at the compass. The needle, which had been fixed southward, began to spin fast. However, unlike before, it didn't stop.

Heero frowned. There was no place. Even before he was sucked into this strange universe he had nothing he could call home.

"I want the Objects of Power." He whispered again. The needle spun for a few seconds before pointing southward once more. He frowned and closed his eyes.

"A family?"

He felt a faint vibration from the compass. The sensation passed quickly. After it had stopped he opened his eyes and looked down at the needle. It was pointed at the doorway Sora had exited through. He blinked in surprise. Then, with a small shake of his head he snapped the top of the compass closed.

* * *

/ Off to the Pridelands. :3 Heero as a kitty! /


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Lions and Tigers, only in Kenya!**

The gummi ship ride southward to the cluster of planets was unusually quiet and Heero had begun to notice the rising tension between the teammates. Or, more specifically, Donald. Goofy was always willing to participate in good-natured small talk and the more Heero interacted with the peculiar dog the more he realized that Goofy couldn't possibly hold a grudge or do anything with ill intent. No, the source of the negative energy was Donald, who had taken up avoiding talking or interacting with Heero altogether. Not that the Japanese boy minded much. He was too preoccupied with learning how the gummi ship worked to pay any attention to the brooding duck.

"This is our target system. It will detect enemies up to three leagues away." Sora was explaining to Heero over a large, flickering control panel. "We also have a new scanning system that will scan an enemy and log its information so the next time we encounter it we will be able to quickly eliminate it."

Heero nodded in understanding and studied the unusual characters that scrolled across a small, blue screen. The gummi ship, despite its cartoonish appearance, was filled with amazing technology. The construction of the ship was very well planned and the gummi blocks were molded flawlessly together. The entire ship was constructed with no visible rivets or seams. No wires or noticeable fuse boxes. The ship seemed to be carved from a giant block of gummi with advanced workmanship and artistry. It was very impressive.

As Heero inspected the control panel he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He straightened and looked to the doorway where he spotted Donald standing in the brightly lit corridor with his wings crossed over his chest.

"Sora, we need to talk." Donald grumbled in his garbled voice. Sora looked up from the controls. His pleasant smile faded to a look of disappointment. Heero let his eyes flicker from the boy to the duck, then back again.

"Donald, Heero is part of our team- anything you need to say can be said out in the open." Sora said solemnly. It was obvious he was disappointed in the duck's behavior. Heero frowned and watched Sora's face shift with emotion. A scowl warped Donald's bill. He shrugged as if he didn't care, though his face made it very obvious that Sora's demand was a spot of irritation to him.

"How long is this mission going to take? We are supposed to be meeting with King Mickey, and we are running out of time." Donald said flatly. His large, blue eyes narrowed on Heero, making it very obvious that he put the blame for their setback on the newest member of their crew. Sora took a step forward. His thin shoulders tensed and Heero saw his gloved hands ball into frustrated fists.

"Donald, what has gotten into you? What ever happened to working as a team, and helping out friends? I think King Mickey would agree with me if he were here. He would suggest that we help Heero, too. Mickey will find us if he needs us. He always does. I am tired of you taking this out on Heero. If you have a problem with our mission you need to take it out on me, because I'm the one who made the choice. I'm the one who decided we should do this." Sora said slowly, almost somberly. Heero's jaw involuntarily clenched as he watched Sora face off with his friend. A lingering thread of guilt wove through his chest, but was quickly shaken off. Donald's long neck straightened as he stood at full height.

"I just think we should fulfill our obligations first, and then we can find his-"

"No!" Sora suddenly blurted out. "No, Donald, this is a pressing matter and I want to take care of it now. I am sorry, but it was you who told me to put off Riku once before, and now … well, he's gone. I won't let that happen again." Sora's words poured harshly from his lips and Heero thought he saw the other boy's shoulders quiver. He wasn't sure if he was angry or sad. "It is settled. We go in search of the Objects of Power. I want your full support!"

Donald stared up at Sora with wide-eyed disbelief. Heero took a step back away from Sora and watched as the other boy glared down at the now silent duck.

"Fine." Donald uttered in a barely audible tone before turning to waddle down the hallway out of sight. Once the duck had left the tension in Sora's body slipped away. A dark expression graced his usually carefree face. Heero watched as Sora slumped heavily into the command platform's chair.

"I'm sorry he is acting this way." Sora mumbled. He had begun to rub his eyes with the palms of his hands. Heero crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at the top of Sora's messy brown hair.

"No, I am sorry I am causing you so much trouble." Heero said in return. "It seems my presence here has caused you a lot of tension. Your crew is even upset with you. If I weren't here you wouldn't be in this situation."

Sora let his hands drop to his lap and he looked up at Heero with a peculiar expression. Heero wasn't sure how to gauge the emotion the other boy was projecting through his large, reflective blue eyes. He shifted uncomfortably under Sora's gaze.

"No. There are things that have been issues between us since the very beginning." Sora finally replied. He had begun to toy with the large crown-shaped pendant that hung low around his neck. "It isn't the first time Donald and I have had a fight, and it won't be the last."

Heero nodded and, unsure how else to console his new comrade, he settled for placing a strong hand on the other boy's slim shoulder. Sora seemed to strengthen almost immediately beneath Heero's firm grasp.

"Well… anyway…" Sora began, abruptly changing the subject. Heero was glad for it. All of this teenage angst was starting to make him feel very uncomfortable. He removed his hand from Sora and let it dangle loosely at his side. "We are pretty close to the planets. Let's see which one the compass shows us."

Heero nodded and then proceeded to fish the compass out from one of his baggy pockets. He set it on the control panel and carefully flipped it's scuffed and tarnished lid open. The needle spun in lazy circles as it waited for a command. Heero looked up at a holographic screen that projected the three planets. Then he carefully picked up the compass and closed his eyes.

_The Objects of Power._

He said silently in his mind. He could hear the soft whirring sound of the needle spinning frantically as it searched for the direction to point in. Suddenly the faint vibration from his hand ceased. He opened his eyes and looked hesitantly down at the compass' dull face. It was pointing West. Sora looked up from the compass' reading and scanned the spinning holographic planets on the wall.

"The Pridelands." Sora said with a faint smile. Heero raised an eyebrow in inquiry and Sora simply chuckled. "I hope you like animals." He said plainly. Heero blinked.

"Animals?"

**The Pridelands**

"I still don't understand." Heero said coldly as he took a few retreating steps away from the bright white cylinder of light. "Why do we have to be animals?"

Sora sighed and pointed into the bright portal of light. "We can't disrupt the way of that world. Trust me, it isn't that bad. In fact, it's kind of fun. If we go as humans we won't be able to communicate with anyone because these animals aren't like Donald and Goofy. They are wild. So having them run away from us in fear would make this much more difficult, don't you think?"

Sora had a point. Heero scowled and put a hand on the handle of his Gunblade, which was securely fastened to his torso. "But if I am… an animal, how am I supposed to use my weapon?"

"You will be able to; you just won't have any hands. Come on, Heero- are you going to be like this all the time?" Sora mumbled.

Heero stiffened and shot Sora an icy glare. "Be like what?"

Sora shrugged and rolled his eyes. "All scared and stuff. I thought you were a soldier in your world, so why are you so scared to do everything?"

Heero knew Sora was trying to get him going, and it was working. "Look, I am not scared of this; it is just not something that I'm used to. All of this… this magic and talking animals, none of it makes any sense."

"Can't you just trust me?" Sora asked sincerely. Heero grumbled a few curses under his breath and resisted the urge to smack the satisfied smile off of Sora's face as he entered the column of white light. "See you down below!" Sora's voice tapered away as the world around Heero was erased. He blinked against the bright, intruding magical light and when his eyes had finally adjusted he found himself standing on a large plain of dry savannah.

He looked around and wondered why the grass and trees seemed so tall. He glanced down and nearly jumped as he saw that the dusty ground was only a foot or so beneath his face. He tilted his head further and saw two round and furry paws. He tensed in surprise and as he did the paws tightened as well, revealing two sets of sharp claws. He turned his head as far as he could to the right and saw the elongated torso of a large cat.

_So I'm a cat…?_

He sighed and closed his eyes. His body felt strange. The occasional prickle of fur tickled in between his toes. In fact, he felt as if he was standing on his toes. He shifted his feet forward and felt only his newly formed back paws move. His arms, now forelegs, were lined with silky fur as well. His back felt as if it was stretched out and his posture could only be described as standing with one's shoulders back with the chest jutted out as far forward as it could go. It was a peculiar feeling. Something swayed behind him and he was surprisingly very aware of his tail. He opened his eyes and looked down the top of his nose and saw a halo of brown whiskers poking out from just above his upper lip.

"There you are!"

Heero looked up just in time to see a lion's head poke through the shifting tall grass. It was Sora, which was plainly obvious. The boy had transformed into a lion with a messy, dark brown mane that was vaguely similar to the human Sora's. He also still wore his chain around his furry neck, and was holding the Keyblade with his tail.

"Hey, you were turned into a cat, too. Looks like you're a jaguar." Sora said happily. Heero realized that they weren't speaking in a traditional sense. Instead, Sora's furry mouth was forming strange combinations of growls and huffing noises that immediately translated in his head to words he somehow understood. Heero tried to take a step forward but found that only his back legs moved while his forelegs stood still, thus causing him to stumble awkwardly. He nearly landed on his head.

"Hahahahhaaa!" Sora's mane shook as his small, young lion's body quaked with laughter. Heero clumsily righted himself and continued to scowl darkly at his furry companion. He tried to move again, this time by hopping his front legs forwards and then followed the same pattern with his rear legs. This gave him the forward momentum of a bunny hop, and provided ample amusement for Sora who continued to laugh at him.

"How am I supposed to coordinate my legs?" Heero finally growled. Sora panted softly as he tried to regain composure.

"You have to think of your arms and legs as separate and yet the same." Sora said matter-of-fact. Heero glared at him. Sora flinched. Heero smirked, happy that his facial expressions retained the desired affect, even in feline form.. "You have to think of your front legs as arms and the back as legs, and then coordinate them like you would if you were crawling around on your hands and knees." Sora began to lope around Heero in a quick circle. "You have to move them diagonally, like your left arm forward then right leg forward at the same time, and vice versa."

Heero studied Sora's movements as the lion trotted and dashed around in the grass. "It is hard to get at first but soon it becomes second nature."

Heero nodded and, taking the other boy's advice, strode forward. He tried to train his body to coordinate his arms and legs through moving diagonals at the same time and soon he had the hang of it. He ran forward through the tall grass to test his newly formed body. The dry reeds whipped at his face as he ran but his whiskers deflected them before they reached his eyes. He lowered his head close to the ground and bolted forward. He could feel his claws ripping into the dry soil and, with each stride, his spine coiled and expanded. The large, flat toes of his paws along with the automatic sway of his long tail provided balance and stability as he ran. He could feel his heart throbbing quickly against his rounded ribcage and his finely tuned ears rushed with the sound of parting grass.

_This is wonderful!_ He found himself leaping joyfully up over the grass. He learned he could swivel his ears behind himself to tune in to specific sounds. Currently he was focused on the steady beat of something running behind him. He slid to a stop and turned around to come nose to nose with Sora, who was panting and laughing.

"Wow, you caught on real quick!" Sora exclaimed with excitement. He reared up onto his back paws and teasingly swatted at Heero's nose. Heero growled playfully at him and, with a powerful spring of muscle he leapt onto Sora to knock him to the ground. Sora snarled and nipped at Heero's shoulder as he did. They tumbled through the grass sparring with one another until finally Sora, having been more practiced with his lion body, pinned Heero on his back against a nearby rock. Heero panted as he smiled up at Sora with his new fangs bared.

"Fine, you win." Heero mumbled reluctantly as Sora roared loudly in triumph. He watched as the young lion bounded away from him and began to strut back and forth proudly with the flocked tip of his tail flicking in contentment. He rolled off of the rock and settled into a straight-backed sit on the ground. He lifted a paw, licked it, and began absently straightening his whiskers with it. Suddenly his dark blue eyes widened in shock, surprised at his own actions.

"Why do I have the sudden urge to clean myself?" He frowned and huffed. Sora had finished his victory strut and had taken a seat beside Heero.

"Along with the body of an animal are the inherent instincts. Sometimes you find yourself doing the craziest things." Sora explained with a grin. Heero scowled and extended his front claws to let them burrow deep in the dirt, hoping he would never have to experience the taste of a dirty paw in his mouth ever again.

Suddenly the grass around them shifted and Heero's ears immediately honed in on a faint, unusual sound. Sora noticed as well and Heero could see the young lion's ears swiveling in search for the noise's source. Heero felt his own sinewy muscles coil and tighten in preparation for attack. With a flash of light the Keyblade appeared in Sora's mouth. The rustling sounds stopped.

"What was that?" Heero growled softly to his companion. Sora's sapphire blue eyes narrowed and he shook his furry head. Heero frowned and, hesitantly, he inched forward, his paws silent against the broken stalks of dried grass. He lowered himself as parallel to the ground as he could. He could feel his tail whip back and forth in anticipation for a pounce.

Still there was no noise. Had the intruder run off or was whatever it was still just beyond the thick wall of swaying grass?

The grass rustled. Heero froze in place and bared his fangs. His whiskers twitched as they detected a sudden change in the air around them. His tail thrashed wilder than ever. He could hear Sora's breathing quicken. His ears buzzed with the sound of mosquitoes nearby as well as the high, eerie whistle of the wind blowing across the nearly bare branches of a nearby tree. A strange call from an exotic bird sounded overhead.

_Now!_ He commanded his new body. The tension within his legs and arms released and, like a spring, sent him bounding into the grass. His forepaws came in contact with something solid. Suddenly the solid mass fell away and shrunk into the ground, vanishing. Heero sucked in a few breaths and saw something else move from his periphery. He spun around and ran after it, parting the curtain of grass effortlessly in pursuit.

"No, Heero! Wait!" He could hear Sora call from behind him. The words were lost on him. He couldn't help but give chase, something deep within him didn't want to stop. It was a nagging sensation he just couldn't ignore.

_Get it. Get it._ He followed the path of bent grass stalks that his prey left in its wake. A smell began to fill his nose. It was a dark smell like the heavy, cold scent that fills the air before heavy rain. He snarled and ran faster, pushing his feline body to the limit. It seemed no matter how fast he ran he couldn't catch sight of the runaway creature.

_Hunt… hunt…catch it._ Urged the voice from the back of his mind. The grass parted to reveal an empty canyon, flanked on both sides by two walls of solid rock. Heero slowed and searched the barren faces of the rock wall, searching for his prey. He saw something move deep within the canyon behind an outcropping of rocks. He couldn't help himself. He lunged forward and began to descend into the canyon.

"Heero!" Sora's strained voice called out from the distance, "don't go in there!"

Heero ignored the young lion's warning and continued to pursue the shadowy creature. He came upon the pile of rocks and, with a powerful leap, landed upon them. However, once he had a view of the opposite side of the rocks he realized there was nothing there. Confused, he searched the surrounding area and saw nothing. He was alone. The creature was gone.

He sat down atop the pile of boulders and stared, panting, down at the spot where he was certain he had seen something. A good distance away he could hear Sora scrambling down the smooth rock face towards him.

"Heero-" Sora came to a stop at the foot of the boulder Heero had perched upon. "We have to get out of here. I have a bad feeling-"

"It's gone…" Heero interrupted, mystified. Sora narrowed his eyes at him.

"Snap out of it. Come on, we have to get out of here!"

Heero blinked and looked over at the irritated young lion, and then up at the sky. Just above the sky had turned gray. Massive black clouds had gathered low in thick, impermeable clusters. The wind had picked up and was blowing hard, whipping up the occasional pebble or tangle of savannah grass.

"Rain?"

As if by command the nimbus clouds above had ripped open, bestowing a torrent of water upon the dry, powdery world below. A sheet slammed into Heero and Sora and nearly knocked Heero from the boulder upon which he sat.

"Come on, we have to get to Pride Rock." Sora yelled over a clap of thunder. The ground shook and caused a few rocks to break free from the canyon's walls. Heero nodded and followed Sora's lead out of the canyon. Scaling the wall was difficult. Water poured down the face of the rock and made everything slick and dangerous. Once they had emerged from the canyon they made their way across the vast savannah and towards a tall triangular platform of rock. Lightning struck the ground nearby as they ran and the crackling sound of electricity tearing through the air rang in Heero's ears. His lungs began to ache and his muscles burned from exertion. The water from the rain settled in his fur and made him feel heavy and sluggish. By the time they came upon Pride Rock Heero was exhausted.

"Over here!" Sora howled as they scampered up the rocky slope and tumbled into a natural cave. Once inside and safe from being pelted by the rain Heero slumped to a crooked sit and began to helplessly shake the water from in between the toes of his paws. Sora shook his head a few times to break loose any water that had settled around his ears or within his mane.

No sooner than they had entered a growl echo from one of the darkened corners of the cave. Heero instinctively crouched into a defensive stance and, to his surprise, Sora did the same. The first growl was accompanied by a chorus of menacing snarls and warning roars.

"Who are you? Who do you think you are for intruding upon the King's cave?" A silky voice hissed from the darkness.

"Nala? Is that you?" Sora asked hesitantly, his voice booming from one side of the cave to the next. Silence followed. Heero snarled and prepared to fight, but nothing happened. Suddenly a figure pranced forth from the darkness. It was a lioness. She approached them with a happy expression, her tail erected high behind her like the mast of a ship, a gesture of friendship and greeting.

"Sora! Wow! What are you doing here?" The lioness called Nala crooned softly. She made a noise deep in the back of her throat like that of a housecat's purr. "I didn't think we would be seeing you so soon."

Sora gave the lioness a toothy smile and tilted his fuzzy head towards Heero. "I am here to help my friend Heero," he said cheerfully. "We are on a side-quest."

One of Nala's eyes quirked and she nodded her head to Heero in greeting. Heero relaxed and simply returned the gesture. He let his eyes slide to the dark corner from which Nala had emerged. He could make out the dark figures of other animals within the cave. They seemed to be lionesses much like Nala. He even saw the occasional lion cub poke its head around its mother to get a better look at them.

"Where is Simba?" Sora asked curiously. Heero saw the young lion look eagerly in the direction of the hidden pride. Nala shook her head and sighed. "He is out trying to find Rakifi."

Sora's eyes widened. Heero wondered who this Rafiki was. "What happened to him? Is he missing?"

Nala frowned and worry filled her dark feline eyes. "He had been missing for a week. Simba thinks that something terrible has happened to him so he went to find him."

"Do you know where he went? Or when he will be back?" Sora inquired worriedly. Nala shook her head. Heero saw Sora's shoulders shrink down into his back. Then the young lion looked over at him with a hint of genuine concern.

"I'm sorry." Nala finally huffed. Sora looked up at her with a forced smile.

"Don't worry, Nala," Sora said with confidence, "I think I know where Simba went to look first."


	14. Chapter 14

**The Pridelands, continued…: The Search for Rafiki**

Sora had taken a seat at the edge of the cave, facing the long platform of rock known as Pride Rock. The rain had slowed but thunder continued to roll through the air along with the occasional bright flash of nearby lightning. They would continue their quest as soon as the weather let up. Sora had exchanged a few stories with Nala while Heero had endured being pounced and climbed on by the pride's rambunctious gang of young cubs. Now the other lions had all curled up into a giant pile for a group nap, leaving Sora and Heero alone to stare out across the vast savannah.

"Who is Rafiki?" Heero had finally asked. He lifted a paw to gingerly rub at one of his sore ears that a young lion cub had accosted during play. Sora was staring up at the cloudy sky, and when Heero followed his gaze he thought he saw the outline of a lion's face in the clouds. Upon closer inspection the image he had thought he saw was gone.

"Rafiki was Simba's advisor. He is a wise and very old mandrill. He helped me a lot the last time I came here. He is very intelligent and capable… which makes me wonder what could have happened to him…" Sora's voice drifted off into a soft growl of frustration. "When the rain stops we will go to the jungle. I think that Simba went there, first. The jungle is a beautiful place, but it is also filled with dark shadows and has a lot of hidden secrets. If something harmed Rafiki it would be there."

Heero realized that during Sora's speech he had begun to lick his paw again. He silently chastised himself, and dug his paws firmly in the ground, and gave an irritated flick of his tail. "Simba is the king of this place?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah, he is really awesome. I can't wait to introduce you. Before, Simba was king he lived in the jungle with some of his friends. He knows that jungle pretty well, which is also why I think he went there."

Heero thought on that before speaking hesitantly. "Wouldn't the compass show us where Simba is?"

Sora's eyes snapped away from the turbulent clouds and over at Heero. "Yes! Of course! Why didn't I think of that!? It can also find Rafiki!"

Heero smiled; an expression that made his cat-like face feel rather strange. Maybe cats weren't meant to smile? He stopped trying to smile and simply nodded. "How do we get it? It was in my pocket on the ship. I don't have anything now, not even my Gunblade."

Sora's eyes twinkled. "First of all, you have to stop calling it a 'Gunblade'."

Heero blinked and narrowed his eyes on the young lion. "What should I call it then? It is a Gunblade, isn't it?"

Sora tilted his head and, in doing so, his long mane shifted restlessly around his neck. "Yeah, well, it is a Gunblade, but it is customary to name your weapon. All of my Keyblades have different names, according to their abilities and by who gave them to me. You should name your Gunblade, so that is will be your weapon, you know. Give it some personality."

Heero considered this. It wasn't uncommon to name weapons on Earth, after all the Gundams all had names. Sora was right about it giving them personality. He looked across the shifting grasses of the savannah and stared into a flash of lightning that crackled across the clouds in the distance.

"Wingblade."

Sora blinked and made a noise in the back of his throat akin to a chuckle. "Wingblade?"

Heero snarled and thrashed his tail back and forth in annoyance. "Fine, just Wing."

"No, 'Wingblade' is a fine name-"

"Wing. I'll call it Wing."

Sora repeated the name quietly to himself a few times before nodding his head in agreement. "Okay, so now that you know the name of your weapon you can summon it at any time. Remember when the Moogle made it for you? It is a part of you, and fused to your being. So, all you have to do it speak to it."

"Speak to it?" Heero said with a skeptical voice. Sora nodded and Heero frowned. "Fine… um… Wing… come here?"

Sora's furry mouth opened to reveal long, pointed fangs. He tilted his head back and laughed. His cackles made a few of the nearby napping lionesses stir. Heero glared at him with a stern, harsh look. Sora immediately silenced.

"I don't understand how to speak to it," Heero murmured faintly, trying to hide his embarrassment. The young lion stood and padded up to him quietly.

"Just think about Wing, and imagine that it is in your mouth. Summon it. You are the weapon's master, it will obey. Imagine it is here with you and tell it, in your head, to come to you." Sora said, and as if to demonstrate, he closed his eyes. He made a rather determined expression. With a flash of glimmering light the Keyblade appeared as it had before, clutched tightly in his mouth.

Heero closed his eyes and thought of Wing, his new Gunblade. He imagined the elaborate patterns on the side, the length of the barrel and brought forth various images of its short, tapered blade. Come to me, Wing. He reached out with his mind and retrieved the blade from its holster from the ship. He imagined it floating faster than a shooting star towards him on the planet. He thought of it flying down through the rain clouds to appear in his mouth. When he opened his eyes he felt something heavy clutched in his jaws.

"You did it!" Sora exclaimed happily. One of the lionesses growled a groggy warning at Sora, but the young lion didn't seem to notice. He continued to bounce in place happily. "Now you can fight with it. Use your tail!"

A part of Heero's brain seemed to be dedicated to the movement of his tail alone. It was easier to wrap his tail around Wing's handle than he had expected. He lifted the light Gunblade up with his tail and tested his ability to move it back and forth. He even found that eh could spin the Gunblade on his tail just as he could with his hands. There seemed to be no limitations to his tail holding the weapon at all.

"When there is no danger around Wing will vanish, but now that you have summoned it, it will appear in your tail again if any danger approaches." Sora explained happily. The Keyblade disappeared with a swirl of sparkles.

Heero felt Wing vanish with a blast of cool air from around his tail. He gave a contented sight and closed his eyes. He thought of the compass. It had no name, but he hoped it would work. He imagined it in the same way he had with Wing. A second later something round and heavy appeared in his mouth. He dropped it on the ground with a clatter. Sora immediately lunged for it and pried the lid off with his nose. Heero watched as Sora set his paws on either side of the compass. He looked down at it with a determined, narrow-eyed stare. The arrow spun wildly to the left, and then to the right before settling on a point northeast.

"Just as I thought." Sora whispered down to the compass. He closed his eyes again and the needle began its manic carousel once more before settling on the exact same spot as before. "Simba is with him. They are in the jungle. Once we find them, it should be a piece of cake.

"What about the Objects of Power?" Heero inquired curiously. Sora nodded and nudged the compass over at Heero. Heero wrapped his paws on either side of the compass and thought hard about the Objects of Power. The needle didn't move. It didn't even spin as it usually did when it was calculating a direction. It continued to point northwest towards where Simba and this mandrill Rafiki supposedly were.

"Huh." Sora muttered down at the compass. "So maybe it has something to do with this situation, too. That's good." A few minutes later the rain had begun to slow to a light drizzle. The lightning was still there but flashing far enough in the distance that Sora had determined it safe to leave. They made their goodbyes to Nala and the pride and continued their quest for the Objects of Power, and now too to find Simba and the wise old mandrill, Rafiki.

Sora and Heero made their way across the wet savanna at an easy, casual lope. Heero noticed that a lot of the indigenous animals had surfaced from their hiding places to enjoy the damp, crisp renewal of their land. A herd of zebra grazed hungrily alongside a cluster of wildebeest. As they ran past a watering hole Heero saw the snouts of a family of hippos poking curiously from the surface of the water to watch them as they passed. They crossed a tree filled with small, energetic little monkeys. The small creatures screamed and howled at their presence. Heero turned his head slightly to get a view of the tree of monkeys as it shrunk away in the distance behind him. The little animals were still hollering and shaking their fists at them in a threatening way. The newly awakened animal part of Heero just wanted to leap into that tree and grab one of the snarky little animals by their tiny little necks…

He shook his head roughly at the disturbing thought and tried to concentrate on the sensation of his four paws pounding into the wet dirt. What am I thinking?

The distance they crossed was large but soon they made it to the lush, green edge of the jungle. Strange and unfamiliar noises echoed from the dark shadows of the underbrush and the deafening cawing of brightly colored birds settled in the jungle's canopy made Heero's ears twitch and ache. They slinked cautiously into the jungle. Heero became very aware of all of the other hidden creatures that lived there. The long, twisting emerald green torsos of anacondas slithered past through the trees and the loud, high-pitch croaking of tree frogs became louder as they neared, as if warning other creatures of their presence. A sloth craned its head in the direction as they neared a clearing. It hung upside down from its long, hook-like nails. Moss and algae clung to its dingy, gray fur. It eyed Sora curiously, and then looked Heero over once before lethargically tugging itself further up into a cluster of leaves to hide.

"I know it is around here somewhere…" Sora mumbled to himself as he forced his way through a thick wall of vines. The unruly tendrils tangled around his neck and seemed to be trying to hold him back from continuing through the jungle's hidden sanctuary. Sora began to tug helplessly against the vines. "I'm stuck…" He squeaked frantically as he writhed and twisted within the vine's unwavering grasp. Heero scowled and approached the vines cautiously. He grabbed a clump of the long, twisted ropes with his mouth and began to chew on them. A few snapped loose but they were too thick. He began slashing at the vines with his outstretched claws. Sora struggled harder against the vines and in doing so caused them to tighten even more around his neck.

"Heero, help!" Sora wailed as he wriggled against the grasp of the vines. His Keyblade appeared in his tail. He began to thrash his tail violently against the vines which only resulted in Sora's tail becoming tangled within a set of smaller, spidery vines.

"Stop moving. You're making it worse." Heero said softly as he studied the situation closely. He followed the path of the vines up to a long bough of a gigantic tree. Chewing the vines wasn't working, but if he could slash the vines at their source it would keep Sora from hanging himself in them. He set a paw on Sora's back to get his attention.

"Hold still and don't move. I am going to get to the top and break them at their source." Without another word he bounded up to the tree. Heero supposed that being a jaguar as opposed to a lion had its advantages. He felt a sudden urge to scale the tree. The task wasn't daunting to him at all. He wound his rear legs as tightly as he could and, with a pounce, he leapt into the air and landed against the trunk. He dug his sharp claws into the tree's bark and shred it as he scaled the height of the tree. He came upon the branch that held the vines that had ensnared Sora. He crawled out onto the branch and used his tail to keep his balance. Then, with some effort, he clawed the vines free from the branch. They fell heavily to the ground. He followed their path and saw that Sora had been buried by the massive, heavy vines.

"Sora!" He yelled down at him but received no answer. The pile of broken vines didn't move. Frantically Heero leap down from his branch to a lower one and proceeded to descend the tree with great speed. He leapt to the ground with a heavy thud and scampered to the pile of vines. He dug into them with his claws and plunged his face into the pile, searching for the young lion.

Just when Heero was about to give up hope, Sora's fuzzy head poked out of the vines. The young lion gasped pathetically for air before looking up at Heero with a wide-eyed expression. "You saved me!"

Heero rolled his eyes and began to untangle the vines with sharp, hard tugs. "You weren't in that much danger." He grumbled as he methodically removed the vines from around Sora's neck. Sore shook his head in protest.

"No! You saved me! I could have died…"

"You're being overdramatic." Heero replied plainly as he freed the last of the vines from the young lion. Sora shrugged and tilted his head towards a path that had been revealed just behind the thick curtain of vines. "I knew it was there! That will lead us to Timon and Pumba. They did a really good job of hiding it this time…" Sora said absently. He smiled brightly at Heero before bounding towards the narrow beaten path. "Come on, let's go! We're almost there!"

A quarter of a mile down the narrow, winding path they came to an open clearing. A hammock swung between two small trees. A pile of dead bugs sat nearby on a curled palm front. Sora slid to a stop in the clearing and looked expectantly around for someone or something. Heero narrowed his eyes as he slowly stepped towards the hammock, which swung back and forth as a soft breeze rustled through the jungle.

"Something isn't right. They should be here…" Sora whispered, mostly to himself. He began sniffing hesitantly at the ground. "Timon?! Pumba?!"

Heero spotted a cluster of erratic footprints nearby. He neared it, then at beside it to study the prints closely. Small, four-toed paws along with very deep, round hoofs made unusual circles in the dirt. There was a short smudge against the ground- like something had been dragged a yard or two before the tracks stopped altogether near the spot where they had entered the clearing.

"A struggle." Heero said as he motioned to the tracks. Sora took a look at them. A worried expression became obvious on his furry face.

"This isn't good." Sora said somberly. "Let's see what the compass says."

Heero retrieved the compass once more and Sora asked it where King Simba was. It pointed to the west. He asked it where Rafiki was. It didn't move. Then he asked it about Timon and Pumba, and it remained pointing westward.'

"Something took them, took them all." Sora whispered down at the compass. Heero snarled in frustration. His tail swung to and fro with irritation. "Scar…"

Heero's ears perked at Sora. "What did you say?"

"Scar. He was Simba's rival. I thought he had died, but maybe his… ghost came back again? I don't know. Come on, we better get to them soon before it's too late." Without another word Sora bolted in the direction the compass had indicated. Heero reluctantly followed, glancing around behind himself. They were missing something at the clearing, but what?

The forest grew denser as they traveled deeper and deeper into its dark, lush depths. The sounds of birds and animals seemed to diminish the further they went until nothing but the occasional chirp of a tree frog broke the strange silence. It was getting dark, and they had still not found anything. Sora was growing frustrated and Heero felt the lull of sleep calling him. Finally, when the darkness was so thick that they could barely see past their noses, Sora decided to make camp. Heero watched as the young lion retrieved a tent orb as if out of thin air. It cracked against the damp ground and a second later a glowing yellow tent stood in place of the broken glass. They both shuffled quickly inside. They wordlessly curled up on opposite sides of the tent. Heero curled his long tail around himself and rested his chin on his front paws. He watched as Sora, who had opted to sprawl out on his side, drifted into a deep slumber.

Heero couldn't find sleep as quickly. His thoughts began to drift back to Earth where the other Gundam pilots were engaged in that terrible war. Who would be there to make sure Relena was safe? He supposed that Duo and Trowa could take care of that. Did they think he was dead? Did anyone notice he was missing? It wouldn't have been the first time that Heero had vanished without a trace. How long would it take before someone would realize that he was missing and, when the truth of his disappearance was revealed, would anyone care?

He frowned and buried his nose into the soft fur of his paws. He forced his eyes closed and tried to think of something else. Anything else… but his thoughts of home continued to plague his mind. His last thought before falling asleep was the same nagging notion he had since Sora and his friends had picked him up.

_Will I ever make it back to Earth?_

Heero woke to the sound of Sora growling. He sat up quickly and when his eyes came into focus he saw that Sora was still lying on the opposite side of the tent away from him, asleep. The young lion growled again. He was dreaming.

Heero stretched his sore muscles with a laborious yawn before slinking across the tent to sit beside the slumbering Sora. The young lion's face was tense and his eyes were shut tightly. He snarled and grumbled in his dreaming. Heero lifted a paw and placed it on Sora's nose. The lion's eyes snapped open and he jumped up to a wobbly stand.

"It is about time you woke up." Heero said slyly. Sora wasn't amused. His dark, silky mane was matted on one side from sleep. The young lion shook his head to settle his fur before giving forth a wide-mouthed yawn.

"Time to get moving again." Sora muttered softly before looking expectantly at Heero. Heero nodded and summoned the compass. They checked it for each of their targets and, as before, it pointed West for all of them. They exited the tent and, as they left it behind, it vanished in a flash of powdery yellow.

"I didn't realize how big this jungle really is." Sora said over his shoulder to Heero as he pushed through the thick foliage. Heero ducked as a branch Sora had bent nearly snapped back to slap him in the face.

"What I don't understand is what could possibly kidnap a full grown lion? He is the king as well. Don't these creatures have any sense of diplomacy and order?" Heero grumbled as he wove his lithe body between two narrowly set tree trunks. Sora shook his head and laughed, but didn't answer.

They walked for nearly the entire morning and just as the sun settled itself at its highest point did they finally get a break in their trek through the jungle. The sound of drums throbbing nearby caught Heero's attention. They checked the compass and found that it pointed in the direction from which the drumming came. So they cautiously made their way in that direction. As they neared the drums became louder and louder. The quick, steady beat made Heero's adrenaline flare. He felt his anxiety mounting but forced it to settle. He wasn't scared, necessarily, just very nervous about seeing something else absurd in this wacky universe.

The smell of smoke wafted on a strong wind. They came to an opening in the jungle, which led to a grassy cliff. Carefully they both slipped out onto the top of the cliff and crawled to it's rocky edge. When they looked over the edge they saw an encampment below, or more specifically, a jungle village. Identical round mud huts had been constructed in a meticulous half-circle in the clearing. At the center of the half circle was an enormous fire. It danced and licked the sky to the beat of the drums. Heero narrowed his eyes against the hot afternoon sun to get a better look at the small figures that circled around the inferno. They were peculiar looking humanoid creatures wearing leaves and shrubs. They were also caked with mud and were dancing in wild circles around the campfire.

"There's Simba…" Sora whispered to Heero. He pointed his nose at the far end of the camp. "And Rafiki, and Timon, and Pumba." Heero inspected the spot and saw a large, noble looking lion standing as proudly as an animal could while twined to a stake in the ground. A mandrill was bound beside him. A fat warthog and some small rat-like creature were also tied up nearby.

"Are those Heartless?" Heero asked as he returned his gaze to the enemy. He saw Sora shake his head out of the corner of his eye.

"No… I mean, I don't think so. They don't look like Heartless, or Nobodies either. They just look like your average jungle savage. What I don't get is what they want with Simba, or the others. They aren't even under the king's rule." Sora reasoned aloud.

Heero studied the small village more closely. There seemed to be no women or children about, just the warriors. The huts were all identical, even down to the amount and shape of the meat that hung from the doorways. It didn't seem real, but rather like a stage production. Even the warriors seemed to dance with detailed choreography, all on beat and to the even rhythm. "It doesn't look real."

Sora nodded in agreement. Heero saw the young lion's fur between his shoulder blades standing on end. "You're right. What are we going to do?"

Heero assessed the situation. He counted a little over ten warriors shuffling around the village. He had yet to see Sora use his Keyblade in a fight, so he could only assume that Sora could handle at least five of the warriors. There really was no way to gauge the capabilities of the strange jungle people. "We need a distraction." Heero said flatly. Sora gave him a pleasant smile.

"That should be no problem." Sora replied happily. "You get to the king and the others and free them. I'll distract the savages."

Before Heero could protest the young lion bounced into a nearby bush. With a heavy sigh he turned to look down at the jungle men dancing by the fire. Then he studied the far corner where they kept their captives. There was plenty of plant cover there to hide in. After he had planned a course to take to that particular hiding spot he made his way through the trees to a cluster of trees and shrubs. There he crouched in the shadows and waited. The lion called Simba was standing still, staring into the fire that blazed at the center of the village. Rafiki, the mandrill, had been tied to a stake beside the lion. He hung there, helpless and unmoving. The warthog had his tusks tied to the ground. A smaller creature was tied to the warthog's back. It looked to be a prairie dog, or a meerkat, or something of the sort. He assumed those were Pumba and Timon.

One of the jungle men broke away from the circle of ceremonial dancers and began to walk towards Simba. He had in hand a stick with various gourds hanging from the top. As he came near he began to shake the stick at Rafiki and then at the lion, who snarled in response.

Suddenly an explosion sounded from the campfire. Heero looked up and saw the huts burst into flames, one after another. The dancers stopped in their stomping and dancing and began to scream in terror as their homes caught fire. The corner of Heero's jaguar mouth perked at the sight of the destruction.

"Some distraction."


End file.
